Almost anyone can build web sites, but if you want to catch the attention of your web visitors, you may want to consider using a flash web site. A flash web site can deliver an interactive experience to the user by incorporating different elements like motion, sound, graphics, and video.
Flash web site development has come a long way since its inception in 1996. Seven out of the ten most popular sites on the web incorporate flash, and more than half a million web designers and developers regularly use flash to build web sites. But like everything, there are pros and cons to using a flash web site.
Pros of Using a Flash Web Site
A flash web site provides a unique user experience that regular web sites simply cannot achieve. With a flash web site, you are not limited to text and still images. You also can incorporate music and other audio files, rich graphics, and fast-paced animation. When you build web sites that incorporate a full blown multimedia experience for the user, your site will be much more memorable.
A flash web site also gives you the chance to build web sites that include an intro. An intro can be used to inform visitors about your business, products, and services as soon as they enter your site. When used properly, a flash web site intro can provide excellent promotion for your business.
Cons of Using a Flash Web Site
Everyone wants to build web sites that load quickly and provide the best user experience. One of the biggest disadvantages of using a flash web site is the long load time. Audio, fonts, and duplication can increase the size of flash files. The larger a file is, the longer it takes for a page to load.
Because Internet users can be impatient, you may lose some of the visitors who aren't willing to wait for a slow-loading page. But, there are things that you can incorporate into a flash web site to make the experience more bearable for the user.
To start, you can build web sites that include what is known as a preloader. A preloader asks the user to please wait while the page loads. You can also limit the wait time on a flash web site by preloading only a percentage of the movie before it begins. As the user starts watching the rest of the movie will load.
When you build web sites with flash it is very important to think about the user experience, but it is just as important to consider how it will affect other things like search engine rankings. This is one of the other major downfalls of a flash web site. Because of the way a flash web site is designed, search engine spiders are unable to read ths context or links within a flash movie. This could inevitably affect your search engine rankings and your traffic if you aren't careful.
About the author: Cliff Posey, owner of CRP Marketing, owns and operates webbusinesstoolsonline.com. Cliff has also operated several other successful web businesses including Love Song Cards and Radio Career Consultants. The content in this article was developed from his experience in these businesses and his continual research into further business improvements. This Blog is for discussion about web sites and web site traffic therefore your feedback is welcome.
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2 comments:
I have struggled with these issues where flash is concern. I hope someone will be able to come up with a way to use flash that provides the benefits without the drawbacks of using it.
Keep up the good work.
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