The Pros and Cons of Using Flash Design on Your Website

Flash design has long been the bane--and sometimes joy--of web designers everywhere. This article is the second in a two-part series meant to help you decide--flash or no flash?

For every person who extols the virtues of flash design, there is another who proclaims flash website design is a particularly impressive kind of evil. It seems there is little middle ground in the love/hate debate over flash design. But how do you choose which side youre on?

Flash Design: Smart Web Design or Gimmick Run Amuck?

First introduced in 1996, flash design struggled for acceptance for a few years until website designers put it into widespread use. At first it was considered a gimmick, but it quickly became a tool for adding videos, tutorials, and interesting features to websites in an attempt to draw and keep surfer interest.

Today, yoiu can find flash web design on countless websites, but some computers have trouble loading flash. Some issues have been identified with the use of flash design in todays popular products, which has led to little flash support on iPhones, iPods, and iPads.

Whether flash will ride the wave of the future remains to be seen. What you need to know is about the here and now. What are the pros and cons of flash design for your website?

Pros of Flash Design

If you think flash design might be perfect for your website, consider what your goals are. Do these pros fit in with your vision for website design?

• Perfect for animation. Flash was originally designed for animation purposes, and it handles the task extremely well. Flash is also perfectly suited for games, videos, and interactive websites.
• Works independently. A flash plug-in works independently of operating systems and browsers, which means that no matter what your visitor has at their fingertips, your flash looks the way it should on their computer screen.
• Makes a catchy impression. Lets face it--flash is flashy. A bit of flash on a well-run website can add just enough visual interest to hook your visitors, and that keeps them around to look at the other information on your website. Flash can be a great way in to a more simple presentation.

Cons of Flash Websites

The pros are tempting, but what about the cons? Those deserve some serious consideration:

• Search engines dont like flash. Search engines dont read flash well, and so your best-laid SEO plans might be for naught. In fact, many search engine spiders--including that of powerhouse Google--might ignore flash altogether.
• Loading time can be long. A website heavy on flash can be tough to load on an older computer, and even on some more modern ones. Some websites wont load at all until all of the cumbersome flash elements are in place, and those long wait times can drive visitors elsewhere.
• Can send visitors running elsewhere. Just as with graphics and sound, some people simply dont like flash and do what they can to avoid it. One reason is the lack of functionality--for example, many flash sites are tough to exit, especially when the "back" button takes the user away from the site and they have trouble navigating back into it.

Many website developers get around the flash issue by offering a flash introduction with simple "skip flash" option. With one click of the mouse, the flash is gone and the user is browsing the website in a simpler fashion.