Pros and Cons of Flash-based
Sites
Flash-based sites have been a craze since the past few years, and as
Macromedia compiles more and more great features into Flash, we can only
predict there will be more and more flash sites around the Internet. However,
Flash based sites have been disputed to be bloated and unnecessary. Where
exactly do we draw the line?
Here's a simple breakdown.
The good:
Interactivity
Flash's Action script 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.
The bad and the ugly:
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.
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