First thing is first, I am not a basher of Flash websites. I found a serious extra flaw yesterday though, that I just had to mention. A couple of days ago, I gave away a free usability and design analysis. A SEO expert quickly snatched it up, and had me go to work on one of his clients. The site was bad to say the least, and at the end we both recommended the site owner do a complete redo. What was soo bad? A lot, and to top it off they had an alternate Flash version of the site that just made things worse.

Don’t Confuse Your Visitors

To save the site owner from a little embarrassment, I am withholding the site name, but I will give you a partial screenshot of the home page.

Here is Mistake #1

Any semi-experienced webmaster will recognize immediately this is a really old site with some possible leftovers of a FrontPage editor at hand. The first mistake made on this site was its home page. Users were immediately given the option to choose what way they want to go, Flash or HTML. Instead of having a nice site designed to start action right away, the user is forced to decide on how to use the site. The first mistake in brief? The user already has to start clicking just to get to the home page, a place they should be already!

Mistake #2

What if the user has a hi-speed connection, but the flash site still takes a long time load? Well in this particular case it did take a long time to load, and I use cable for my internet connection when I tested it. The user is then forced to go back to the home page, and then select HTML. Switching to now HTML mode the user can find themselves on the home page of the site. Three clicks, and a long flash download just to get to an HTML version of the site? Bad, bad, bad. Another reason to go the HTML version? If the user doesn’t find what they are looking for in the Flash version.

Mistake #3

This mistake may not apply to all sites that have two versions, but it did occur on this domain. Both versions of the site had links to the home page, but those links only took you to the home page of the current version they were using. They offered no way to go back to the root, and the only way you could was by retyping in the domain name.

But There is More Confusion and Another Problem With Flash

Now let’s look at the reality of Flash, and how it can create even more confusion. While doing my analysis on the site I found something interesting. The HTML version of the site had more content than the Flash version. Having two different site version has its own problems as mentioned above, but this problem existed because of the nature of developing a Flash website.

With an HTML website, my ten year old daughter can edit and make changes using a WYSIWYG editor. Editing a Flash site however is not that simple, and does require a bit of expertise, a.k.a. an expense. The other problem with Flash? Basically, it’s not as easy to edit for the regular Joe.

So in this particular case it was obvious to me that whenever the site owner had new content, or had new links that needed changing, they only changed the HTML portion of the site, most likely doing it themselves. The end result? The return visitor, if they had any, will learn that the Flash version of the site is dated, and no longer serves any purpose. A new visitor visiting both versions, will not even know what to make of all the different content, and may just look elsewhere.

A Good Time to Use Flash

As a general rule I suggest only using Flash when the user does not require a HTML version of of the site. An example to use Flash would be on a website where kids play Flashed developed games. Obviously, HTML will not even work in this case, nor will it be needed. An example when not to use Flash would be a site that requires constant updating, or a site that needs to be as accessible as possible. Flash does not work on any cell phones that I know of.  Your choice should be obvious, and it should not be put on the user.

Another good rule before using Flash on your site? Know how to edit a Flash site yourself, or be prepared to hire someone that does. You will need them anytime you need to make an update or change to the site.

A final note about Flash. I see a lot of restaurant websites using it. It looks cool, you cannot deny it. To those restaurant owners with Flash sites. A lot of people looking for a place to eat are already out on the town, and away from their desk. In this case they often use their cell phone,  iPhones, or whatever type of PDA to look up information about your site. How does your site look using your phone? Can you even read the phone number?

Like this post? Get usability and design tips delivered by email straight to you. Full feed articles are delivered, and are managed by Google's Feedburner service.

3 Comments - Post Yours