Pros and Cons of Flash-based Sites
Keywords : Website, Web Design, Flash, animation, Actionscript, Macromedia, Adobe, Shockwave.
Flash (Shockwave Flash, Macromedia Flash) is a program used to add or create animations, interactive forms, games and objects on a web page. It
is developed and distributed by Adobe, and previously Macromedia. Flash is gaining in popularity both with web designers and with the public as it
is the most commonly installed plug-in on the web. It is available for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and Solaris.
Writing a website
entirely in Flash only can have several benefits : it can add great interactivity to your pages (animations, videos, games...) and you do not
have to worry about cross-browser compatibility. But
it can also have serious drawbacks : for example, it requires a plug-in and can make search engine
optimisation very tricky.
Flash-based websites 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 Actionscript opens up a vast field of possibilities. Programmers and designers
have used Flash to create interactve 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 (cross-platform compatibility)
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.
Video works well in Flash applications because it doesn't require an OS-dependent plugin like QuickTime or MediaPlayer.
The bad and the ugly:
The Flash player (plugin)
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 optimisation
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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