Web Design & Marketing Blog

Is Flash The Way To Go? Part 2: The Cons

Category: Blog

Written by Estevan Montoya

Yesterday we looked at Flash based websites from a positive point of view. We examined 3 "pro's" of Flash Websites. Today, we are going to look into some "con's" about flash based websites. Please note that we are not against a flash based website. Take a look at the positive side of flash websites here.

Let ma take you back again. It is 10 - 14 years ago. Napster is booming and people everywhere now have access to the internet. May I remind you, it's not just dial up anymore. You can now afford cable speeds, so now you can download mp3's a screaming FAST rate. To top it off, people are using flash to make their websites "flashy", stylish, and interactive. If their website wasn't flash based, it at least had a splash page where people could watch an intro before they entered your website. The internet was making great leaps and bounds in the visual arena.

Here we are in 2011...almost 2012, and flash is still around. Designers now have mixed feelings about flash based websites. Javascript with jQuery is now here. One can now accomplish a lot of the same trendy look with css and jQuery. Is flash being left in the dust? Well, in a way, new designers are leaning toward the open source side of things, since a new freelancer has a hard time buying the Adobe Website Design Suite. Things are changing, entire flash based websites are being done away with. Yes, people still use flash for elements of their website, but entire flash based websites are going away? Why?

Here Are Some Reasons Why Flash Based Websites Are Going Away

CON 1: Apple Incompatible

Well, we know the legacy of Steve Jobs (RIP). He was a true innovator, and because of his vision, we have a whole new level of technology. His inspiration of an iPhone is the reason we have so many smart phones. Other companies tried smart phones, but he took it to the next level. That's not including the iPad and the market he created. That being said, his innovation in the smart device realm is revolutionary. Everyone knows what apps are and touch devices As part of this trend, Steve Jobs out right claimed that his devices would not be built to work with flash! CNN covers the story well, which you can read HERE.

What that means that is a large part of the market in the smart device realm will not be able to view flash on their devices. That means all flash movies, videos, and websites cannot be view on Apple smart devices. That is a large market. It is one that we are willing to carter to, so if flash doesn't work then we don't work with it. This helps ensure compatibility issues. Beside that, what good is a sharp looking website if it can't be views on a large portion of the smart device market?

CON 2: Search Engine UN-friendly

Because a flash movie is, well...a movie, there is no real code for search engines to crawl. That is why is not friendly in the real off Google. One has to have LOT of back links to rank high in Google with a flash based website. Top that off with the advent of blogs that are pushing content out left and right and the social aspect that is not easily integrated into a flash website, and you can see that flash sites are not search engine friendly. That means two major players are against a flash based website: Apple & Major Search Engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing, AOL....

So what good is a good looking flash website if it can't be seen by smart devices nor can it be found in regular devices like desktops and laptops. I know this may sound a little harsh, but these major companies have not found a way to work together, so we are stuck trying to make the best of it. So far, these are two HUGE reasons a flash based website may not be the way to go.

CON 3: Development Costs

Last is the cost to develop a flash based website. The software to develop flash based websites is not cheap. Most new designers cannot afford to pay a few thousand $$$$'s to develop a website that can't be seen or found. Top that off with the ever growing knowledge base of PHP, css, and jQuery, and a new webs designer has an easier way to get started...outside of flash. Since it is becoming a thing of the past, flash classes are being offered like they used to be, and now people are flocking to code based web design that is easier to get started in.

Because of that the low amount of trained flash professional website designers, flash web designer must charge more for their services. All this being said, it's not worth it to invest so much into something that will bring little ROI when compared to a code based website that is much easier to manage. Also, the advent of Content Management Systems makes it much easier to make, edit, and maintain a website.

I don't mean to bash a system that has been so revolutionary, but the facts speak for themselves. Flash is becoming a thing of the past. If one wants to compete and have an advantage on the internet, then code based websites are much more affordable and easier to maintain.