Flash on a website can really enhance a site and entertain with visual movement and dynamics. But I'm still surprised to see complete Flash sites that seem to be more informational type sites. For music, design or multi-media type sites this may be very appropriate and even expected by your visitors. But if a site is primarily there to provide information, sell products or services, why would a visitor want to wait for flashy intros? Some Flash can enhance, but too much Flash can hurt a site (sometimes without the site owner being aware of it) and frustrate visitors. Here's a list to consider when using Flash:

Some visitors may still have a slow Internet connection which can cause animations or movies to pause, stutter and generally slow down load times.

Some visitors may not have the required Flash player plug-in or the latest version, which means they'll have to download software. Example: I was looking for examples of great Flash sites and went to www.Disney.com and couldn't get into their site until I download Flash Player 9. I currently have Flash Player 8, so I'll need to upgrade before revisiting their site.

Once I've seen the Flash animation once I usually don't need to see it again and again each time I visit a site. Always provide a skip intro link for Flash intros. Some sites will play the Flash animation only the first time that you've visited a page. This is a nice feature especially for repeat visitors.

Depending on how it's used, Flash can hurt Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and possibly lower search results, which is becoming more and more important to site owners, marketers and web designers. In some situations, where Flash isn't necessary, try replacing Flash with images or even styled text. For images, alt and title tags can have associated descriptive keyword text that can be seen and used by search engines.

Obviously the visually impaired will not be able to enjoy your Flash animations, and screen readers used by the visually impaired may not get your message at all since there may be little or no text to read. For more information on website usability, visit usability.gov or check out usability expert Jakob Nielsen at useit.com.

Offer an HTML version of your Flash website.

Flash may be more difficult to modify later. Of course this is dependent on who created and is maintaining your site.

Here are some questions to ask if you're thinking of integrating Flash.

Is Flash going to help me communicate to my audience? Will the majority of visitors have the Flash plug-in? Is slower download time acceptable? Do I rely on search engines for traffic, and will I still have good search engine results?

As you can see, Flash is not always the right option. Carefully research and choose the right tools that work best for your project. Be sure that your website is focused and appeals to your target audience.

Norm Euker
http://www.njedesign.com