Pros and Cons of Flash-based Sites

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 probably be more and more flash websites around the Internet. Nevertheless, Flash based websites have been disputed to be bloated and unnecessary. Where precisely do we draw the line? Here’s a easy breakdown.

The great:

Interactivity

Flash’s Actionscript opens up a vast field of possibilities. Programmers and designers have utilized Flash to produce interactive functions ranging from extremely lively feedback forms to attractive Flash-based games. This whole new level of interactivity will usually leave guests coming back for more.

A standardized site

With Flash, you do not need 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 website elements in Flash, they’ll always appear as they are as lengthy as the user has Flash Participant 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 efficient way. Flash is really a lightweight choice for animation simply because it’s vector based (and therefore smaller file sizes) as opposed to real “movie files” that are raster primarily based and therefore much larger in size.

The bad and also the ugly:

The Flash player

Individuals have to download the Flash participant in advance before they can view Flash movies, so by using Flash your visitor range will decrease considerably simply because not everyone will probably be willing to download the Flash participant 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 does not have the player installed.

Site optimization

If your content was presented in Flash, most search engines wouldn’t have the ability to index your content. Hence, you will not have the ability to rank well in search engines and there will probably 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 guests.

The best way to go would be 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 website is purely to present easy textual and graphical information.

Carol Lee is an expert author specialized in web design and development.