Where Not to Use Flash

Only recently I realized that my firm has been using Flash to develop websites since 2002, and things have changed in leaps and bounds since Flash 4, when we were first introduced to Actionscript, pixel fonts and tweening. Since then, we have complete several projects in Flash including plain banners to complex, interactive games. Some of these websites utilized Flash in very effective ways, whereas in others, to be honest, we would have been much better off without it. The same is true of Flash everywhere. If not used sensibly, Flash may hurt the objectives of the website, while at the same time costing more to implement than a simple jQuery alternative.

So, given the circumstances in which companies still request for Flash websites, but not too many designers are able to handle it so well, here we present a short list of websites where Flash tends to do more harm than good:

1. Intros of Websites

This goes without saying. Websites are supposed to exist for visitors, and are not supposed to annoy them in any way. The only use I can see for a Flash intro is to irritate users and to waste their time. Nine times out of ten, users click the “Skip” button and get to the main site. I don’t mean to say that a pre-loader is a bad idea, but I would not recommend this to last for more than one or two seconds.

2. Sites which have SEO Goals

It is possible for a Flash site to get somewhat decent SEO rankings, but it will be nothing compared to the HTML or WordPress equivalent. It may be true that SEO is not easy even without Flash, but Flash makes matters even worse. If you have any sort of SEO goals for your website, stay away from Flash.

3. Menus and Navigation on HTML-based Websites

Menus have one and only one goal on a website: to take visitors to wherever it is they want to go quickly. You should never opt for a “pretty” or “cool” solution at the expense of “accessible”. A menu developed in Flash will end up leaving several users stranded, since not everyone will have Flash installed. In addition, search engines will not rank sites without “true menu links” very highly. If you truly want a “cool-looking” menu, it is always more advisable to opt for a DHTML/Javascript based solution which will display simple lists as a fantastic navigation system.

4. Informational and Content-based Websites

Flash is a complete no-no for websites which have multiple menu items and several pages of content within each of these menu items. Otherwise you will end up with a very problematic website which will cost much more to develop and maintain as compared to an HTML or WordPress based website. Not only that, site usability is also adversely affected since visitors find it very difficult to find the information they are looking for, which defeats the purpose of an “informational” website.

5. E-Commerce Websites

The Flash platform has without a doubt come a long way when it comes to functionality and flexibility. Over the years, Flash has become more and better equipped for applications, but for an e-commerce website, the use of Flash is best avoided, due to two main reasons:

• Stores developed in Flash can end up being very complex. A typical CMS-based web store is a very straightforward website with independent modules such as accounts, carts and checkout systems, which can all be independently edited easily. A store developed in Flash may contain the same basic modules, but the integration will be far more complex and riskier than it is worth. Unless you are a very skilled Flash developer with a solid understanding of UI, and you know what you are doing, do not attempt to use Flash for your e-commerce website.
• Users are too accustomed to the conventions of e-commerce websites to be willing to try anything new, resulting in a much lower ROI. Even though Flash may be able to deliver more, and sleeker-looking functionality, the real bottom line is consumer conversion rates. In this respect even “ugly-looking” HTML websites may generate higher ROI than Flash-based websites.

6. Sites Which Require Extensive Content Management

Despite the fact that Flash has some very solid features for content management, it is more trouble than it is worth to use a Flash-based CMS when your client or you need to constantly manage your website’s content. This is primarily due to the fact that your clients always want more changes than are technically possible. And you definitely do not want to keep maintaining a Flash website for years on end. Make sure of your clients content management needs and see if a CMS such as WordPress will serve these needs.

This does not, of course, mean that Flash should be avoided completely. There are still some websites where Flash will be an option. For examples, promotional websites, game websites and portfolio websites are just not the same without Flash. Even so, you should always remember that there is a primary purpose to every website, and if Flash is not able to contribute towards it, it will only do more harm than good.