Wondering whether you should incorporate Flash or HTML in your website design? Research shows that a combination of the two is the best way to go, in order to best use the comparative advantages and minimize the weaknesses of each.
The main advantage of Flash design is its visual appeal and better interactivity. Flash designers have a lot of freedom as to what they want they create and how, therefore working with Flash can be very fun and appealing. For the designer, Flash is more controllable as well. When it comes to font choices or resizing for different online devices, Flash makes it easy to do. The overall end result is a creative piece of work that can allow the viewer to interact with their mouse or clicks. This increases the website's entertainment factor and the website's 'stickiness.'
The problems with Flash, however, are that it really does not suffice for a wide audience, or a heavily knowledge-providing site. Users must have a downloaded plug-in and respectively newer computer in order to correctly—and efficiently—view any Flash animation or design. If copying content or printing text is going to be a common action for the viewer from your website, you don’t want it to be in a full Flash format, as this is often harder to do with Flash text.
There's also an on-going debate as to whether Flash websites are search-engine-optimizable, a big factor in making your website accessible to your market. Most people conclude that it's definitely not as SEO-friendly as HTML. Even after employing techniques to work around it, search engines cannot spider a full Flash site very effectively. Search engines cannot read and index Flash text as they can HTML text. They also cannot follow links in Flash, so the full Flash website will basically appear singular; this will reduce rankings in search engine lists and overall visibility to your market.
HTML is great for a lot of text content mixed with images and beginners. It's very customizable, easy to use and maintain, and has had years in development. HTML is also much more affordable for the hoster and user-friendly for the viewer. It's safe to put out an HTML website and feel that most viewers will be able to see it on their home computer. Since it is completely SEO-friendly, your can be sure to constantly update your website's visibility within search engines and the web.
Therefore, the best combination is to add a little Flash for pizzazz in combination with rich HTML content...maybe a Flash picture album, calendar, or video.
As an end note, it is also important to keep in mind the respective “image” of the two types. Flash websites are often seen as more creative, personal, and artistic while HTML websites are seen as more professional, knowledge-providing, and simple.
Remember, your overall website's goal is to effectively target your general audience. Find and plan your best design early! |
