Flash & Usability on the Internet
There was an age on the interet when everything was static.
Webpages were created in pure code, and rarely you could find a
page with an interesting design. But the times have changed.
Programs like Macromedia Dreamweaver made webdesigners life
easier. Image editing applications enhanced websites with
graphics that transformed them in eye-candy-websites.
But today a new program creates waves on the Internet.
Macromedia Flash. A program that was developed for professional
webdesigners. It had such a succes that nowadays you can find it
anywhere on the world wide web. From simple animation, to
complex applets that interract with the user, Macromedia Flash
has spiced up the internet.
Many people started to create websites entirely in Flash. This
has some advantages but also some disadvantages. I will try to
cover up some of them in this article.
When you create a website in Flash you have full control of the
design. You can use animation, interactivity, you can do
whatever you want with almost no limit. So if you want a super
cool site Flash would look like the ideal solution. But nothing
is perfect.
For example, if you visit a site created entirely in flash you
cannot use the full potential of your browser. If you want to
use the back button you will have the unpleasant surprise to see
that the entire site will start reloading. This will surely
annoy the visitor. Then you can't print the page. Cannot use
forward and many many others. These are serious problems and
they should make you think twice before creating a site in Flash.
Have you ever heard about Google? You can find it at
www.google.com :-). If you didn't knew, newsflash: SEARCH
ENGINES CANNOT READ FLASH! What does this mean? Well lets say
that you will never receive visitors from them. This is a
serious drawback I say. Google & the rest can bring in a lot of
traffic.
To make a conclusion: if you make a personal site or you want to
show your skills go for it. Just do not expect to much traffic.
If you want to create a business related website or you want to
have lots and lots of traffic DO NOT use Flash. It just does not
worth the price.