Say NO to Flash
Designing and developing an effective website takes a great amount of planning, organization and preparation.
In the past, web developers made heavy use of Flash to provide highly dynamic web content over the Internet. As browsers and browser technologies continue to develop, sites which are rich in features and interactivity can easily be developed using combinations of HTML/CSS, JQuery and Javascript. By making use of these scripting languages, web developers can produce captivating and engaging websites while at the same time remaining safe from the following problems inherent in Flash:
ü Flash websites are not SEO-friendly: The biggest problem with Flash is that a Flash-based website cannot be fully indexed by a search engine such as Google. Therefore, it is best to avoid it if your website goals include any form of SEO.
ü The browsers of mobile devices are not Flash-supportive: The browsers included with the majority of mobile phones and mobile devices available today do not include support for Flash. This is especially a problem with the iPhone and iPad.
ü Flash does not include support for text: Flash may be very good for adding aesthetic value to your website, but if you want to provide your viewers with the ability to select text or copy and paste it, the use of Flash is a very bad idea.
ü Abundance of other options: A complete website developed in Flash will not work unless your visitors’ web browsers are equipped with the necessary plugins and Flash players. If your visitors discover that your website requires multiple installations to work properly on their particular browser, many will not bother and will switch to another website that delivers what they want without the added annoyance.
Some people put forth the theory that they develop Flash based websites only to improve the web experience. But the truth is that there are other options that allow developers and designers to achieve the same goals without Flash. Before developing a website, therefore designers need to take their clients’ and target audience’s needs into account before they start work on a website. Because Flash is only supported on a very limited number of mobile devices, and is not conducive to SEO, the use of Flash may greatly reduce visitors to a website.
