Flash-Based Websites - Bane or Blessing?

Flash-Based Websites - Bane or Blessing?
Author: James Lim

Many professional webmasters today contend that using Flash within a site is not only unnecessary, but also very annoying. Even though the use of Flash was very popular in the early-to-mid 1990s, many people have gotten away from the use of Flash animation just because of the better features that can be used on a site. Nevertheless, Macromedia has brought great things to the Flash animation industry and you can bet that there will continue to be plenty of websites around that use Flash. If you are trying to decide whether or not to use Flash within your website then there are some things to think about before doing so. Here are some pros and cons about using this technique:

Pros for using Flash

One reason that website owners like using Flash Templates within their site is because of the interaction that it allows the customers to have on the site. The Flash Actionscript that can be used within websites not only allows for games to be played, but also allows for many other things that the website owner might want the visitor to take part in.

But the interaction that Flash allows between the visitors of a website and the website itself is not the only good thing about using it. For example, Flash animation is a good way to add expression to your website that depicts fun and entertaining animated scenes, faces, as well as a whole host of other expressions. Furthermore, when creating your site you will also find that Flash files are much smaller than any other type of movie or animation file!

Compatibility is another reason why some people choose to use Flash web templates. In today's world there are many web browsers that can be used for all sorts of things and a webmaster usually has to worry about how his or her website will operate across all platforms, such as that of Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer, as well as any of the other web browsers out there. However, Flash is usually compatible with a wide range of browsers, especially Firefox and IE both, which means less worry for the webmaster!

Cons for using Flash

Less traffic is a big problem for those who are using Flash website templates. First, visitors and traffic can be lost due to the fact that they normally have to install a separate Flash player. Unless the visitor already has one installed on his or her computer, your website will have to redirect the visitor (or at least provide an external link to it) to the website where they're able to download the player. Not only is this a pain for the webmaster to do, but it's also frustrating for visitors, which is why many people just don't bother! Another reason that you may have less traffic is because of the search engines. Most search engines don't usually rank Flash websites very well, which is why there would also be less traffic coming from those sources.

All things considered, the best way to go about creating your website if you must use Flash would be to use a combination of elements throughout your website. For example, combining HTML and Flash is a good way to combine some elements of Flash but still staying grounded for your customers and visitors. Flash doesn't have to be the death of your website, but one must use it very wisely!

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