To Flash or Not

With browsers capable of delivering so much content it is tempting to add Flash to your website - or even have your entire website in Flash.

While I work in Flash and love it - I use it selectively on my site. On my Home Page at the bottom you'll find one simple snippet:

http://www.brendasimon.com/

You'll find other examples, more complicated here:

http://www.brendasimon.com/animated_titling.html Click the motion titles. Some are Flash.

In choosing to include Flash I considered my clients. Since my visitors are from a wide background and different computer platforms and cofigurations I located the Home Page Flash near the bottom, which means it loads last, it won't annoy the slower computers. The animated titles are on their own pages which lets the visitor choose to view them or not. This removes the annoyance factor we all run into and has been one of the major stumbling block for Flash sites. Another key factor has been the lack of indexing for dynamic pages, but Google has been making headway on this (jury still out on their effectiveness).

The best use I find is including some Flash, but not your entire website. One of my clients uses it on the Home Page banner and this is a perfect touch of movement, but they also recognize their visitors and clients will NOT be on dial-up or older computers.

If your budget permits embracing the beauty and fun of Flash keep your client's convenience primary in your web design and you'll find the right balance.