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To flash or not to flash
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There is no doubt about it. Flash is the best tool in any web designers arsenal. It is easy to use with phenomenal results. You can create a full blown website in a couple of hours and the file size can be less than the size of your average .JPEG file, but (and this is a big but) it is still a plug-in. This means that you have to download and install the latest flash player in order to view the website. It is really not a big deal if you are an intermediate to advanced user, which is what maybe 60% of Internet users are. However, that other 40% of people may not feel secure having to download and install software on their computer in order to view your site. Another downside of a flash based site is the fact that web crawlers cannot see the text content contained within the file. This means it has no way to index your site, which can lead to poor search engine ranking. Don't be put off with the down sides of flash. There are ways around these problems.
Only use flash for graphical touches, i.e., headers, images, navigation structure (as long as the navigation structure is backed up with text links to your pages as well).
Create a mirror site, which the user will be automatically redirected to if the user does not have flash installed.
Export the flash file in the lowest version needed to be viewed. Unless you’re using features that Version 3 does not support, there is no reason to export the file in the latest Version 7. That way, you don't alienate users who maybe have flash installed, but not the latest version.
Flash should be used as an enhancement to your site and not the main construction block. Unfortunately, new technology advances more quickly than people do, so the tools we have available today will not be used to their full potential for a long time and, by that time, we will have new tools to tempt us into making design mistakes.
Note: When you start thinking about your web site, the most important thing to think about is your target audience. For example, if your audience is schools, a lot of schools have their internet security setting set high so students are not looking at anything they shouldn't be. If this is the case, then a lot of the time it will block any site with flash installed because there is no way to determine the content of the site.
Jigsaw Sales two cents
Before Jigsaw takes on any job, we will discuss your product, your needs, your target audience and offer you the best possible design solution for your needs.
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