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(Article first published in Sept '09. It has been modified slightly to suit its publication on our site)
In the early days of the internet, websites were essentially boring. OK, the technology and overall concept was hugely exciting, but the user experience itself was, well, boring! Every site was basically a page of text and even after a few years of development, the best websites were still just a page of text with some very basic and low-quality imagery. But then something quite amazing happened. In 1996 "Flash" was born and this new technology began to make the Internet a much more exciting place to visit.
What Is Flash?
Flash is a technology that allows some advanced graphical and animated sequences to be created. It can be used for applications as varied as creating interactive presentations for web, web-based animations and games or simply website banners. The clever thing about it is the ability to combine graphics, images, video and audio in any combination and for any use.
So What's The Problem?
Like any new technology, Flash was over-used and before too long whole websites were being designed entirely in Flash. For some very specific sites, this is not such an issue, but for any typical small, medium or even corporate business, Flash websites should be avoided. The main reasons for this are:
- Flash can be overly complicated for visitors needs, requiring more clicks to find what they're looking for on your site.
- Flash is not ideal if you have a site that you plan to update and Flash sites cannot easily have content management systems applied to them, so forget being able to update your own site.
- Flash sites are not ideal from a search engine visibility perspective and cannot be as easily optimised as an equivalent HTML site.
- Flash sites, unlike HTML, are not automatically compatible with all browsers. In order to see a Flash site you must have a Flash Viewer program installed and in some cases you might have the wrong version installed rendering the website un-viewable.
- In relation to the previous points, some organisations do not allow the installation of Flash viewers at all, so if your whole site relies on Flash then it simply won't be viewable AT ALL by potential customers within those organisations!
I Really Want A Flash Website - What Should I Do?
If you really must have a Flash-based website then you should have a 'fall-back' version in HTML. In other words a whole different version of your site made in HTML that users can view if the Flash version does not work for them. But because it means double the cost and double the maintenance, most companies will avoid this.
So What Can I Use Flash For?
Flash is an excellent tool for specific animations or online demos/presentations within your site. So if you want an amazing header banner or a really clever financial calculator of some kind, or you want to show your range of products in an exciting and interactive way, then Flash is most definitely the answer.
In Summary
Don't just go for a Flash site because it 'looks good'. Remember looks are not everything and as I remind all my customers; you're not building a website just to 'look good', you're building a website to generate revenue and looks just a very small part of successful websites.
Franco De Bonis has worked in the field of sales and marketing promotion since 1990 and was most recently the global marketing manager for a major international technology company before setting up The DG Group in January 2007.
DG Group is dedicated to delivering all the marketing solutions any company may require. Whether it's a website or leaflets and brochures, or even some product packaging; The DG Group will manage the whole project and even provide guidance along the way.
The content in this section is the original creation of The DG Group and is protected by copyright. You may use this content on your site or in other materials providing you acknowledge The DG Group as the author and include a link our site.
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