Making Good Use of Flash: When You Should and Shouldn't Use It!
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Josh Barinstein
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Josh Barinstein |
Josh
Barinstein
is President of Red Frog, Inc., the Southern California ad agency
that provides worry-free experiences and powerful results in the
areas of Marketing, Print design, and Web/CD-ROM development.
Learn
more at www.RedFrogInc.com
or by calling us at 888-955-0550.
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Josh Barinstein
has written 1 articles for WebKnowHow. |
View all articles by Josh Barinstein... |
If
you are considering Flash for your Web site production, there are
reasons why you would and would not want to tap into this great
technology. Flash is everywhere these days, it is true. However,
as we've seen in the past, not every available interactive tool
should be used in every application! Here are some questions to
answer before diving in:
1. Is
Flash going to help me in communicating with my audience?
The
first thing you need to decide is whether or not it makes sense
to use Flash. Will you be able to communicate better with your audience
in how you address their concerns? You need to keep users' needs
and perspective in mind at all times.
If
Flash is going to annoy them, or otherwise get in the way of
you reaching them, then simply don't use it! However, for subtle
animations that help enhance the experience, or for media-rich content,
on the opposite end, Flash is an excellent tool.
2. Will
my audience have the plug-in?
Estimates
say that up to 85% of users do have the Flash plug-in, with browsers
now shipping with it. That still leaves 15% without the plug-in,
and those with an outdated version. Unfortunately, many won't bother
to fetch it in spite of a smart site giving them the option.
Know
your audience and if this will mean a loss of business for you.
3. Is
some additional download time acceptable?
Flash
can be optimized, but some movies could potentially take a bit of
time to load. Will your audience commit to waiting? Another important
question to answer. Those on the slower connections may not wait.
4. Am
I trying to accomplish things that plain HTML can't?
One
consideration to make is whether a static, HTML site will do justice
to your content. If your site needs to come to life in some way
because it will engage your audience better, then Flash could be
the answer.
5. Will
I still have good exposure on the search engines if I use Flash?
Doing
too much in Flash will sacrifice exposure on the search engines.
In other words, the engines will not have enough text on which to
base their indexing. If access to your site through the search engines
is important to your success, be sure that you don't overdo it on
the Flash side.
6. Do
I rely on non-vector graphics?
Non-vector
graphics, such as photographs, are not easy for Flash to process.
This means that animations in Flash using this type of imagery will
get easily bogged down.
Another
concern is that Flash does not cache (or store) non-vector images,
therefore they must be reloaded each time. Not a pleasant thing
for your visitors! This is in contrast to HTML-based scenarios where
the browser will cache the imagery for instant retrieval.
As
you can see, Flash is not always the right solution. This is true
of any aspect of Web development, where you need to research your
options carefully and choose the right combination of tools that
works best for you. If you seek outside help, make sure you find
a team with the right expertise and a solid track record to back
it up. Good luck! |