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To Flash Or Not To Flash
Animating your website with Flash can really set it aside from the pack. Unfortunately it can just as easily put it behind the pack as out in front. Keeping your load times down and not taxing the visitor's system is key.
Animating your website with Flash can really set it aside from the pack. Unfortunately it can just as easily put it behind the pack as out in front. Keeping your load times down and not taxing the visitor’s system is key.
With a few exceptions, an all Flash website is almost always a bad idea. Search engines have a hard time with these types of sites. If natural search engine optimization or SEO is even a small part of your online marketing strategy, then you will want to avoid an all Flash site like the plague. However, if you are an artist or say a Flash designer, then it could be a good fit. There are quite a few design advantages to an all Flash site, but unfortunately they almost always get outweighed by the significant number of other disadvantages.
The best way to include Flash animations in your website is with a modular approach. Use small discrete Flash movies embedded in a standard HTML site structure to get the effect you are going for. They will load faster, are easier to edit, and allow search engines to do their job.
IE now displays a security message: click to activate and use this control, whenever a user hovers over a Flash movie. This has only recently become a problem. I can’t tell you how many websites that I visit suffering from this problem. To get rid of this annoying message you need to use a little piece JavaScript. See the end of this article for a link to download this fix.
Don’t use Flash just because you can. If it will actually enhance your sites design and ability to convey information without annoying or distracting your visitor then go for it. Be a minimalist when deciding how much animation to use on your website. Keeping it clean is the key.
The speed and smoothness of a Flash animation can make a huge difference in whether it is perceived as distracting or as attractively informative. Fast jerky animations definitely catch your attention, but then tend to immediately put the viewer off, becoming distracting and annoying. If a Flash movie is smooth and can be running in the background while a visitor is looking at another element on the page without being distracted, then you have hit the mark.
Keep the features in your Flash movies at least two versions behind the latest release. This will ensure that everyone who comes to your website will have a Flash Player able to view your site. Don’t make your visitors download and install something if they don’t absolutely have to.
Have quality flash movies and videos. If I do have to wait a few seconds to see a Flash movie, I want it to be worth the wait. This almost always means hiring a professional flash designer. Flash is a very complicated program with a very steep learning curve. Don’t waste your time beating your head against the wall. Focus on your core business and let a professional handle this part.