Reasons Not to Have Your Website Designed in Flash
I have been asked to comment on this topic on many different occasions by many different sets of people (managers, owners, students, and conference/lecture attendees). Here is my list of reasons for not using Flash to build out your website.
Bad for Search Engines and Rankings
Although Flash websites are now starting to be indexed by Google, Flash can never match the superior ease of use that HTML tags have to offer. Search engine robots love simple websites, as it saves them time and energy. (Remember: Google pays the electric bill for sending bots to your sites, so efficient, quick-to-read sites are always better for them.) In fact, Google has just announced that they will consider website load time (the time it takes for a website to load up) as one of the factors for ranking in 2010.
I know that some designers say they can design “highly efficient” websites in Flash. But at the end of the day, there is no match for a simple HTML website.
Sets You Up for Mobile Failure
Smartphones like iPhone, Blackberry and Droid are surging in both popularity and usage. But here’s your moment of Zen: Mobile web browsers not only have no Flash support, but it’s almost impossible to pull up your Flash website on a Smartphone due to the lack of bandwidth signal and processing power. (It’s a phone, not a supercomputer!) There’s no point investing in a flashy websites if it is not available to your mobile audience. You’ll have to shell out extra money for a mobile version of your site; until you do that, you’ll be alienating your savvy mobile web users.
Not Good for the Planet!
I like to use the phrase “green browsing” to describe someone who is surfing the web efficiently by consuming less power, internet bandwidth and time. Flash websites take longer to load and really stress your computer’s CPU, making it consume more electricity and bandwidth. Some informal studies have shown that we can conserve electricity by not enabling Flash on our browsers. Even if you are not a die-hard environmentalist, it’s something to consider. While browsing Flash websites, you are consuming more power, Internet bandwidth, and more of your time! Now think of the time wasted globally while people everywhere wait for Flash-heavy websites to load….oh, the humanity!
Usability Disaster!
Poorly designed Flash websites (of which there are way too many) are missing some basic usability elements. These issues can really annoy your website visitors. Here are some top ones:
- One URL. If the entire website is one URL, it’s impossible to bookmark or track with analytics.
- Back button missing. Always makes for a bad web browsing experience.
- Fixed fonts. This means users cannot adjust fonts, which is especially bad for visually challenged visitors.
- Too edgy. Reinventing everything can alienate traditional users.
- Long loading time. Cannot be streamed like a video, so users have to wait for the load (or give up and leave).
The Horror of Splash and Intro Pages
Flash is the reason we all have to endure the horror of splash and intro pages on websites. The amount of time the world has spent locating and then clicking the “skip intro” button should be documented for posterity. And for those geniuses who want to offer a Flash and non-Flash version of your website: please be aware that the longer you take to deliver your content to the web user, the more chance you have of losing their attention. I hope that someday “Flash Intro” pages end up in the internet museum of bad ideas.
Makes Content Consumption and Sharing a Challenge
A Flash website makes it harder for users to share and consume your content. Simple things like copy-and-paste, or changing fonts & sizes do not work. Right click, screen readers for disabled users, and keyword shortcuts are all useless on Flash websites. Content should be something you are eager to share with your website visitors. Don’t make it impossible for a visitor to paste your address into Google maps or copy good content and send it to another potential customer.
I hope that the points I’ve outlined above will encourage my readers to go out and seek simpler, less flashy websites. I encourage all of you to put emphasis on the content. That’s what your visitors are looking for.
