The Problem With Flash...

July 07, 2003 | 5 Comments

…and why all Web designers need to know how to use it, and use it well.

It seems like more and more often I come across RFPs and informal requests that read something like this:

I want a Flash web site with high quality graphics that’s fast loading and easy to use. Graphics and music will be provided by the client. I want an intro with my logo and animated navigation. Blah, blah, Flash, blah, animation, yackety-schmackity, blah.

You get the picture. For some reason it seems like many clients I come across equate Flash with success or professionalism. I had a conversation with a fairly savvy client recently who told me that having a Flash based Web site would be seen as more professional by his peers and that non-Flash sites were perceived as amateurish. I was able to talk to him about it and explain that Flash is just a tool and that it’s great for some projects and not so great for others. In this case, we probably will be adding some Flash to a mostly HTML based site.

The problem here is that, while Flash may be seen as more professional or of higher quality than more simple HTML based sites, the drawbacks in using flash for many of these sites, in the long run, outweigh that perceived quality. I want to be very clear here:

Flash, in and of itself, absolutely does not reflect quality or make a site more professional.

We can’t blame these clients here, Flash has saturated the Web to the point that I’m sure that’s most of what they see, and since most of it is poorly done, they don’t have the frame of reference to know what is right for their site unless, we, as professionals tell them. You could argue that giving the client what they want is the way to go, always, and you’d make a good case. I would ague that lots of times the client doesn’t know what they want, and it’s our responsibility as Web professionals to take the time to really get to understand what they want. In the long run, everyone will benefit.

It all comes down to goals. What makes a site more professional is well thought out goals with well thought out solutions and designs applied to those goals. In some cases those solutions will involve Flash, in many others the use of Flash can over complicate a site, make maintenance a nightmare (this is key, as keeping a site fresh and new can be key to the ultimate success of a site), cause usability problems and become a barrier to entry. The reason for this is the exact reason why people have this misconception that Flash based sites reflect professionalism and quality. Poor design and improper use of a great tool.

I know this. You know this, Most importantly the average user knows this. Unless a client makes Flash based sites for a living or is a designer of some kind people (usually) don’t come to that clients site to check out their new Flash animation or interface. They are there looking for whatever it is the client established a Web site for. A product, or service that I would imagine 99% of the time does not involve Flash.

Don’t get me wrong I’m not dissing Flash, like I’ve said hundreds of times, Flash is just a tool, rather I’m trying to answer an age old and difficult question. Do you give a client what they think / say / initially perceive they want, knowing full well that if you do it won’t be the best possible solution? For me I think the answer is usually going to be “no” but I can safely say, based on the multitude of poorly designed and improperly implemented Flash sites out there, this answer is more often than not — “yes.”

My hope is that those of us who build the Web can start concetrating on goals, learn how best to use tools like Flash and move from Flash is 99% Bad to Flash is 100% good.

More from others on this topic:

Mike Pick makes some great points and also points out some all too rare really good examples of Flash use.

Dave Shea has some added points and some good discussion on the topic.

Filed under: Web General