Flash is a powerful application for adding visual candy to your website. The question is should you use Flash? There are arguments for and against the use of Flash. Two of the main problems with Flash concern its long loading time and if too much Flash is used, most search engines cannot index a website, which will reduce the amount of visitors to your website.
The Good Things About Flash
Flash web design is a way to add graphics and animation to your website. Flash is used as a marketing and promotional element on many websites and is very effective at drawing the eye to the Flash component. Visually attractive websites draw in visitors and this is why Flash is so popular on the Internet. Examples of flash elements that you can add to your page include video, sound, graphical animations, presentations, banners, logos, pretty introduction pages and sound effects. Flash videos can be stopped, forwarded and rewound by visitors to your website and this is particularly useful for educational Flash videos.
If Flash is used right, it will not interfere with the ability of your website to be search engine friendly. If a web designer is careful with their use of Flash then the Flash components will not drive visitors away through its large size, long load or because it obscures other content.
Flash may not work for all websites and customers, although for the right customer, Flash will add a professional touch to their website without taking over the site. Flash is suitable for banners, ads and interactive fun for your visitors.
If tastefully used, Flash can create a wonderful display that visitors will remember and neither will the Flash display take attention away from the content on a website. Many web designers use Flash components because it is compatible with many platforms.
The Bad Things About Flash
Flash will work differently on assorted browsers although this is true for most technology on the Internet.
Many people do not have the Flash plugin installed so this means that Flash is not browser compatible for many viewers.
Many people do not want to watch long Flash introduction pages; they will skip the introduction page to go directly to the main content.
It is not a good idea to use Flash as an introduction page because your introduction page will not be search engine friendly. If you want to use Flash, keep it small and do not let it dominate your website. Keep your Flash use to no more than about thirty percent of the total content of your site.
Flash components, especially those with embedded graphics, video and sound effects, take a long time to load for most computers although the Flash designer can choose which elements can be seen first.
Flash designers will sometimes disable a browser’s back button and when people cannot use the back button, they will usually close the browser window. Google AdWords also will approve pages with disable back buttons for their program.
Sites that are made entirely from Flash are not searched and indexed by the search engines.
You can decide for yourself if Flash is right for your website. The reasons for and against the use of Flash can be compelling either way. If Flash is used in such a way that it does not create such a long load time that your visitors leave before it is fully loaded or it does not prevent your site from being indexed, Flash could be a good thing.