To Flash or not to Flash

Flash [Define] has changed the web for the better, before Flash interactive animations were things web designers used to dream of. However just because Flash is very powerful tool doesn’t mean you should us it for everything. Because of the limitless possibilities with Flash it becomes very easy to over-do-it by having lots of things flying around with fancy animated buttons, which confuses the user and ultimately forces them away from your site.

When to use Flash

Flash is best at making a visual impact, for example promoting an offer on your web site. For example you can make a small section of your web site Flash to draw attention to it, like an offer.

Flash is also more than capable of making decent games that can be very addictive, these will get people coming back to your site time and time again.

When not to use Flash

Don’t use Flash for your web site navigation, unless it is fairly simple. All those great effects that looked amazing on a design agencies web site probably won’t fit into a site that sells paint brushes.

If you aim to get the majority of visitors from search engines, don’t make your site completely out of Flash, because search engines find it difficult to read and include your Flash site in their results. That said you could make parts of your site Flash, like adverts or promotions, just don’t make the whole site Flash.

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