Flash website designs have been around since the late 1990’s, but they didn’t really start taking over the internet until the mid-2000’s. Clients started requesting Flash designs for their websites because they were complex, interactive, and visually appealing. Even though this may seem like the best tool to use for web design, it comes with a lot of downfalls that you need to keep in mind. Let’s consider the pros and cons of Flash website designs so you can choose the best option for your business.
Pros
- Flash websites are great to look at, with brilliant colors, custom graphics, and unique layouts.
- Flash utilizes rich internet applications (RIAs) to make pages come to life before your eyes.
- When used correctly, Flash can make a website look extremely high-tech, which may do well for certain business models.
Cons
- Users must have their Flash player activated in order to see Flash applications. If that is not activated, a visitor may not be able to see your website at all.
- Because they are so complex, Flash websites often take a while to load. You could lose 40% of your visitors if your site takes longer than 2 seconds to load, which will quickly eat away at your client base.
- Flash websites are usually complicated to work with on the back end, even with a great content management system. You may not have much control over your site once it is developed.
- Flash web design is typically much more expensive than other web development services because it takes so much more time to work with.
- Many users who are unfamiliar with the internet and technology will abandon Flash sites entirely because they are too difficult to get through.
The Bottom Line
Think about Flash websites like you would a Lamborghini. They represent tremendous advances in technology and they are wonderful to look at, but they don’t function well for everyday use. Most websites need some Flash elements to display videos or slider bars, but that does not mean your entire website needs to be coded in Flash. That is liable to hurt your business in the end.
No matter how much your brain may tell you otherwise, simplicity means everything on the internet. Think about sites like Craigslist and Omegle. They don’t look “fancy” by any means, but they still get used millions of times a day. Think about your audience and the way your website needs to function as opposed to drooling over complicated graphics. In the end, they will not be able to pay for themselves.
