Flash Web Design Tips

Designing Websites to the Highest Standards

Flash is well known for giving websites a flash factor when compared to other pieces of design software. One of the key characteristics of flash designed websites is that they will include rich applications such as video, animations, games and audio features. These are not there for just decorative purpose but can enhance the user experience and make the difference between a successful sale and a failed sale depending on the situation. Users tend to have positive experiences with websites that have been designed by using flash.

It is important that flash is used correctly because if not it will hinder the work of the SEO department. Without proper SEO it is difficult to be indexed by the search engines and be ranked top within the SERPs. Contrary to popular fears, there are entire websites built in Flash but wish enjoy commercial success. The Flash system is not all about style and no substance. It can really improve the effectives of websites. The dynamic nature of the software makes it easy to tune to individual needs of the commissioning companies.

The Details of Flash

There have been some valid criticisms of flash in terms of hindering search engine optimization. This is especially true if the system is not used carefully and according to the internationally accepted standards. The use of heavy images and lack of actual content can make it difficult for search engines to crawl the content. This problem can be mitigated by using underlying HTML codes so that the user experience is supplemented by a background network of code that is available for use by the search engines.

If you use flash there might also be some problems where the Internet Explorer is stopped by the Active X control. This requires the user to give a positive permission which is not a problem for certain users but for others this is an irritant that can make them stop surfing the website. For those users without fast connections, the downloading of the rich content can be a problem and they might even have to request the flash free versions. Alternatively they will simply not pursue the website anymore which represents a loss to the company.

Some people have argued that flash will never be as good as CSS systems because of the hindrances that it causes to SEO. However I would argue that this is short sighted view because it is looking at apples and oranges. There are things that are possible with flash which will be a nightmare to achieve with CSS. Likewise flash has some things that it cannot do as well as CSS. The best solution is therefore to explore means of combining the elements of the two systems to create a better whole.

The key to using flash is to understand its potential and limitations. Once you can find effective solutions to these problems such as search engine optimizations, then you can create a hybrid that will match any web design program.