Flash or Not to Flash?

[Pilana]

No doubts Flash made designer's work more creatable. SOme years ago I could only dream about video like element of general design. If Your site should be conservative you don't have to use flash. But I want to say definitely Flash is for me!

[webwise]

I think it comes down to approaching the whole matter with a holistic view of what your client needs are and what they ultimately are hoping to achieve.

Sure you might advocate Flash with your last dying breath, but what if it doesnt suit your client's objectives ie to become the worlds leading, highest ranked content portal?

And likewise, what if you detest Flash, but thats exactly what they need ie funky ad agency looking to put themselves on the industry map?

Every company's needs are different and it is for this reason that every solution should be tackled with a fresh unbiased stance.

For companies with a huge userbase and brand loyalty, SEO might not be a consideration and all they care about is "user experience" and the "wow" factor. They can afford to alienate a certain user group/s by going 100% flash, because they have critical mass and dont really care.

Alternatively, if your client is just starting out and their business relies on getting as many people to their site as possible, then Flash is probably not the way to go, for the simple reason that as a general rule, Flash sites are less suitable for SEO.

Personally, I dont think it should be a "do or die" decision and ultimately your clients/or your own needs need to dictate the route to market.

WebWiseG
www.webwiseworkshops.com

[Pilana]

According to oppinion of several great web specialists Flash doesn't have a future in Web 2.0

[ramsaytom2]

Hi all
I want to ask question.
"If I am using flash in my site, then, how I will optimize my site. Flash optimization is possible or not."

Thanks in advance.

[edhan]

Well, after running my video site for quite awhile, I decide to change the header to add flash by hiring someone to do the design that is yet to complete. I do not know if that is a good idea but after giving a deep thought, I decide to go ahead with it since this is a video site and showing a bit of flash will make it presentable.

I have seen many flash sites, some are really doing very well while others are not. I do believe that as long as we can balance the amount of flash showing and not taking up too much of the bandwidth or slowing up for display, it should be fine using flash.

I wonder if there is a way to detect a browser having flash or not to decide showing flash or just plain html.

[emeraldisle]

Not true. I'd suggest using Freworks to 'optimize' bitmaps and then import to flash. Bitmaps can really enhance a web presentation - there's no reason thery can't be a few k in size. Also too many vector elements in Flash can slow the processor and even cause freezing. Sure, they are small in size, but vector calculation really chews into a processor e.g I'm using a new mac G4 1.4G processor and I still have to design elements on the stage not to overload the processor and slow down the intended frame rate.

As for SEO - my site scores first 10 rankings on Google, Yahoo and MSN. None of them have seemed to regard flash as detrimental to their database results.

Hi! I love Flash also, I would like to know more detail about what the best way is to prepare images for Flash. For example, I had some tiffs that I have just converted to paths in Illustrator. I "simplified" it (a command in Illustrator) to remove some of the nodes. Is this the best way, or should I have gone another direction? Another thing I have discovered for any website is to use indexed color for images, and take it down to as few colors as possible -- this greatly reduces file sizes. Here is the site I am talking about: Emerald Isle Studios Advertising and Marketing

Also, on another note, does Google and the other search engines capture file names, links, alt tags, etc. in Flash? Are there any differences in how to optimize Flash vs. HTML?

Thanks so much!

[Clicken]

There is a way to detect if the browser is flash compatible and offer the html version if not...

How to SEO Flash » by Jonathan Hochman

[emeraldisle]

How to SEO Flash » by Jonathan Hochman

Hi, this is a great article, but how old is it? I heard that Google can now read Flash. These would be great tips for the other search engines, however!

[sryk3]

it is a thing to debate on these days. I think companies should focus and be audience oriented.

[sheena]

<mod note: I brought this back to the top because I think it is a viable discussion these days and I will be adding more content to this forum to grow its user base. I would love to here the current forum users’ perceptions on this topic. - ghstdrgns>

Based on user view, it is better if the site has no flash. Sometimes the problem with flash site is the loading time and the connection. Although having a flash is creative and interactive it is better if we create a site that is easy to navigate, with right functionality , usability and with visual appeal. And it is better if we know the need of the audience.