Flash Design

"What is Flash Design?"

Flash began in 1993 by Johnathan Gay. Its original purpose was a drawing application and shortly after became a frame by frame animator. In 1996, Macromedia aquired the rights keeping the concept but named it Flash. In 2006, Adobe aquired Macromedia, becoming the current developer of the software. Adobe also is currently adding flash "friends" into its arsonal with applications such as Flex, and most recently AdobeAir.

Adobe claims that 98 percent of US web users and 99.3 percent of all internet desktop users have the Flash Player installed.

"Enough with the history lesson, why do I want it?"

Flash has many uses in today's web site applications. Some uses are:

1. Full flash web sites
2. Flash banners or ads
3. Photo and movie galleries
4. Navigation
5. Movies
6. Animation (character, text, etc.)

Popular sites like "YouTube" rely on flash to play movies. Developers that wish to design a site that is full of interactivity sometimes create a full flash site. This means that the entire web site is one big movie.

Other developers may design an html site with a flash banner. The banner may include animation of the company's logo or other animation ideas. Galleries also have become popular in flash and is explained in our galleries section. Flash navigation is often used to add flair to a web site by combining animation with buttons.

"Flash & SEO - Good vs. Evil?"

It is true that search engines aren't great at reading flash, but that day will come. The good news is that there are coding techniques that can be used to help the "spiders" crawl and gain info from the application.

Full flash sites can become a problem due to the complexity and size of the file. The issues can easily be solved by creating a non-flash version of the site. This is demonstrated in our gallery section as well. This option gives your users the choice to view a flash or non-flash version of your web site. Slower computers and older browsers that have not been upgraded to the newer versions of flash can create issues if the site is offered only one way.

"Do I want a Flash or HTML web site"

This answer will depend on your target audience and the content you plan to provide. There is nothing wrong with having both if your ideas can be fully animated. There are mixed thoughts on whether flash sites work and don't work. A good developer will be able to handle your ideas and tell you if flash is right for your project. You can always scale down and have html and a flash navigation bar or banner.

If you have flash related questions, don't hestitiate to call us and discuss your ideas on a flash project. We have flash developers on staff waiting to start your next project.