Advantages And Disadvantages Of Flash-based Web Sites

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Flash-based Web Sites

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Flash-based web sites have been a craze these past few years, and as Macromedia puts more
and more great features into Flash, we can only predict there will be more and more flash
web sites around the Internet. However, Flash based web sites have been disputed to be
bloated and unnecessary. Where exactly do we draw the line? Here's a simple breakdown.

Advantages:

Interactivity

Flash's Actionscript opens up a vast field of possibilities. Programmers and designers have
used Flash to create interactive features ranging from very lively feedback forms to
attractive Flash-based games. This whole new level of interactivity will always leave
visitors coming back for more.

A standardized site

With Flash, you do not have 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 site elements in Flash, they will always appear as they are as long as the
user has Flash Player 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 effective way. Flash is a lightweight option for animation because it is
vector based (and hence smaller file sizes) as opposed to real "movie files" that are raster
based and hence much larger in size.

Disadvantages:

The Flash player

People have to download the Flash player in advance before they can view Flash movies, so by
using Flash your visitor range will decrease considerably because not everyone will be
willing to download the Flash player 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 doesn't have
the player installed.

Site optimization

If your content was presented in Flash, most search engines wouldn't be able to index your
content. Hence, you will not be able to rank well in search engines and there will 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 visitors.

The best way to go is 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 site is purely to present simple textual and graphical information.

About the Author:
Information supplied and written by Colin Stables web site designer, I use and recommend Help 4 Yo Website Design ServicesThe Power of Dreams - Quality custom made web site design for your home or busines



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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