Flash is a very intriguing technology to add interactivity and flashy graphics to a website. Learning to write good animations and forms in Flash can be difficult and time-consuming, so developers who know Flash are motivated to use it in every situation. But as with all technology, Flash has some drawbacks for many readers and putting up a site in Flash can be a detriment to the site rather than a draw.See the sample flash houston web design site.
If you are planning on putting up a Flash website, you should know both the positive aspects of Flash as well as the drawbacks. This, combined with your knowledge of your customers, should help you to decide if creating a site in Flash or using Flash for certain elements of your site is a good idea.See the sample houston texas web design site.
Current Status
Flash is gaining in popularity both with Web designers and with the public. There are some things on the Web that can only be done effectively with Flash, and some site owners feel that Flash is a very important part of their Web design.See the sample web design houston site.
Learning to write Flash Web pages can be tricky, but there are lots of resources, both online and in books and offline classes.
But using Flash just because can be risky too, as some customers are immediately put off by a Flash website and while search engines have better support for Flash than they used to, it still can be very difficult to get an all-Flash website to rank high in search engines.See the sample site san antonio web design.
What’s at Stake?
Using or not using Flash on a website can cause major problems for the site. If you are building a website that Flash is well-suited for, then not using Flash could drive away readers. But building a site in Flash simply because you can affect how your customers interact with your site, whether they find the site in search engines, and how accessible and usable your site is.see the sample site web design san antonio.
Flash is a powerful tool, but like every tool in the Web developer’s toolbox, it shouldn’t be used to solve every situation. Some problems are best solved with Flash, and others are not. If you know how to use Flash effectively, you can increase your page views and customers.
Reasons to Use Flash
· Cross-platform compatibility
Flash is well-supported on something like 95-98% of the Web browsers out there, and if you build a site or application in Flash, you know that it will be viewed correctly by anyone who has the Flash plug-in. It is operating system and browser independent.See the sample site houston web design .
· Animations
Flash was originally used primarily as an animation tool, and that is what it is best suited for. It is easy to create animations in Flash, and then easy to view them.
· Video
Video works well in Flash applications because it doesn’t require an OS-dependent plug-in like QuickTime or Media Player.
· Games
Games can be fun, and Flash games don’t have the browser support issues of Ajax the bandwidth limitations of server-side games written in CGI.
· Vector graphics
Vector graphics can look smoother and more attractive and Flash allows developers to create applications with smooth lines requiring that the customer have a vector-graphic tool installed on their hard drive.
· Image replacement for special fonts
Web designers who need a special font family in their Web designs can use an image replacement technique called SIFR (or Scalable Inman Flash Replacement) which replaces text in the design with Flash to get specific fonts. Flash applications can perform script actions, collect data, and do most of the same things that server-side scripts can do.See the sample site houston web design .
Drawbacks to Using Flash
· Bandwidth and Speed Limitations
Unless the designer works very hard to
· Usability is impaired
One of the most important buttons on a Web browser is the back button. It is used all the time by most people browsing the Web. But a Flash site typically removes that functionality. When a customer hits the back button after delving deeply into a Flash site, s/he is taken back to the website they were on before they visited your site. Then if they return to your Flash site, they have to reanimate to where they were. Some people might be willing to do their work twice, but most won’t.
· Accessibility is also impaired
Because most Flash sites are based on images, and don’t generally have a lot of alternative text, they can be very difficult or impossible for a screen reader to read.
· Search engines can’t read them either
Search engine spiders are a lot like screen readers, they can’t parse images. Plus, many of them have trouble following links that are not standard HTML links – and most links in Flash are not in HTML – they are in Flash. Because of this, many Flash developers have a very difficult time getting their Flash sites to rank high in search engines. In fact, most Flash sites that do rank well, do so because they have two versions of the site – one Flash and one HTML. And then they have to maintain two copies of the same website.
· Flash requires a plug-in
While a large proportion of Web browsers have the plug-in pre-installed, the fact is that Flash does require a plug-in which some people and companies don’t allow.
· Some people just don’t like Flash pages
Similar to sound and animated graphics, Flash has developed a reputation among some customers as being more of an annoyance than a benefit to a Web page. This is especially true when the Flash serves no purpose other than to decorate a page – such as an animated banner or splash page. While these customers may be less common than those who don’t care, they are often more vocal and more likely to sway opinion away from your site if you use Flash gratuitously. Here is sample site houston web design.
Resolution
Should You Use Flash?
Only the designer and site owner can make that decision. Flash is a wonderful tool for adding games, animation, and video to your Web site, and if those types of features are important, then you should use Flash.
Use Flash Where It’s Effective
There are very few sites that benefit from using only Flash. The drawbacks to SEO, accessibility, and customer satisfaction make it impossible for me to recommend using Flash for your entire site. In fact, even Google recommends only using Flash in select situations:
Try to use Flash only where it is needed.
Never Use Flash for Navigation
It can be very tempting to create Flash navigation because you can add exciting transitions, rollovers, and vector graphics using Flash. But the navigation is the most important part of your Web page. If your customers can’t use your navigation for any reason, they will simply leave – bandwidth and accessibility issues can both contribute to a Flash navigation structure being unusable Go throug the sample site houston web design.
I am very thankful to Jennifer Kyrmin httt://webdesign.about.co
