There are loads of advantages and disadvantages of using flash in web site design. The biggest shortcoming I expect, is that people still think that it is acceptable to design the website fully in flash. My list of disadvantages should put you off that, but there are still reasons to use flash because of its advantages.
The advantages - Why should you use flash? Well, there are loads of reasons for using Flash as elements of a web site - in the right circumstances.
Running videos is straightforward - If you want to include a small video on the site and you want it running straight away, then I find that converting it to flash is a good way to display it. Yes, there are other ways, but this is a good way of using flash as the file will stream and start the video running straight away, rather than waiting for the entire file to download.
A photo gallery looks excellent - A small and subtle flash animation can also add loads to the look of the website. For instance a well executed photo gallery might gently show off some photographs to the reader to tempt them to stay and find out more.
The disadvantages - Yes, although I do create Flash files, I am not really a fan of them apart from the video aspect. So here is what I find are the problems with them.
Not everyone has flash installed! Looking through several of my own site statistics, potentially 4% of traffic do not have flash installed so will miss out on whatever element you are presenting to them as flash. This can leave an annoying blank or even omitted navigation. And as more basic mobile devices hit the market, this percentage can increase!
Flash could be slow to load. A big flash animation that builds a page and displays various aspects of the navigation can be slow to load and clunky. Instead of the page loading practically instantly, the visitor is sitting there waiting for a flash animation that they really do not want to see.
Search engines cannot read flash. This is fine if you are only presenting a photo gallery that is only for visual impact, but if your content or navigation is in the flash file, you are hiding it. You want the search engines to be able to read all of your site’s content to be able to send you visitors and if they cannot get between the pages, then how do they find them?
They are very distracting. A small advert in flash may be eye catching and do the job, but that is because it is highly noticeable and distracting. This distraction is used to grab attention and increase the clicks on the advert, but the same then goes for little flashing banners around the page. They could be too distracting and cause a nuisance to your traffic.
So yes, flash does have a use, but be very careful not to more than use it and ruin the web site. Not every website needs movement and flashing panels, we aren’t at Hogwarts where everything must move. Create your web site with care instead.
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Written by Keith Lunt, who offers a Formby website design service. For more useful tips, call into the internet marketing blog .
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