Flash-based sites
have been a craze since the past few
years, and as Macromedia compiles
more and more great features into
Flash, we can only predict there will
be more and more flash sites around
the Internet. However, Flash based
sites have been disputed to be bloated
and unnecessary. Where exactly do
we draw the line? Here's a simple
breakdown.
The good:
Interactivity
Flash's Action script opens up a
vast field of possibilities. Programmers
and designers have used Flash to create
interactive features ranging from
very lively feedback forms to attractive
Flash-based games. This whole new
level of interactivity will always
leave visitors coming back for more.
A standardized site
With Flash, you do not have to worry
about cross-browser compatibility.
No more woes over how a certain css
code displays differently in Internet
Explorer, Firefox and Opera. When
you position your site elements in
Flash, they will always appear as
they are as long as the user has Flash
Player installed.
Better expression through animation
In Flash, one can make use of its
animating features to convey a message
in a much more efficient and effective
way. Flash is a lightweight option
for animation because it is vector
based (and hence smaller file sizes)
as opposed to real "movie files"
that are raster based and hence much
larger in size.
The bad and the ugly:
The Flash player
People have to download the Flash
player in advance before they can
view Flash movies, so by using Flash
your visitor range will decrease considerably
because not everyone will be willing
to download the Flash player just
to view your site. You'll also have
to put in additional work in redirecting
the user to the Flash download page
if he or she doesn't have the player
installed.
Site optimization
If your content was presented in
Flash, most search engines wouldn't
be able to index your content. Hence,
you will not be able to rank well
in search engines and there will be
less traffic heading to your site.
Loading time
Users have to wait longer than usual
to load Flash content compared to
regular text and images, and some
visitors might just lose their patience
and click the Back button. The longer
your Flash takes to load, the more
you risk losing visitors.
The best way to
go is to use Flash only when you absolutely
need the interactivity and motion
that comes with it. Otherwise, use
a mixture of Flash and HTML or use
pure text if your site is purely to
present simple textual and graphical
information.
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