First appeared on January 25, 2001
Last update on Tuesday, March 25, 2003
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The Macromedia Flash plug-in is installed in over 95% of web users' browsers. This means virtually all users accessing the web can display animated Flash content, so it is clear that Flash has established itself as a web standard. But are web designers aware of the problems introduced by Flash as well as the benefits? I compiled a top five list on why you should think twice when you want to add Flash to your web site.
The back and forward buttons do not work in 100% Flash designs. You simply cannot navigate between individual pages by using these buttons because the whole design is a single Flash object. One of the reasons why web became so popular is the easy-to-use back and forward navigation scheme. So preventing the use of it highly reduces usability.
You must wait to see a Flash object or in some cases a whole web page until that Flash object is completely downloaded. This is usually not true with HTML pages. Individual page elements start to show up after they are downloaded, and you can usually start reading the text part of a web page while the images are loading.
Some Flash designs make you wait for several seconds to watch a redundant animation every time you click a link. This behavior is not only boring, but also reduces motivation to see sub pages.
Some Flash intros take a lot of time to download and most of them provide little more than a bunch of flying logos. There is usually "a skip intro" button included with Flash intros but the requirement of clicking that button everytime you visit the site might get tedious.
You can neither copy nor save text sitting inside a Flash object (with a few exceptions). So you have no choice but to retype it. Also you cannot use the Find feature of your browser (Ctrl+F) that allows you to search a specific piece of text on a web page.
In addition to the reasons stated here, web usability expert Jakob Nielsen provides additional points against the dramatically increased Flash use in his Flash: 99% Bad article including non-working text size control features of major browsers and accessibility issues for the disabled.
Update: Flash MX resolves many of the issues addressed in this article. Please see our Flash MX review for details.
I disagree with a lot of this article. Most of the issues raised have to do with poor design rather than limitations of Flash itself. The "having to wait for everything to load rather than html which loads bit by bit" issue is a good example. This can be overcome simply by loading elements of the movie frame by frame, so the user sees something prior to the entire file being loaded. Its a design issue the author has a complaint with, not Flash itself.
Another useless and negative article from an "expert". By the way, isn't Jacob Nielsen (who originally wrote the article you just mimicked working for MacroMedia to address some of these issues?)
And, if users are so upset over the use of Flash on websites, why do my clients keep asking for sites that enable Flash functionality? I do not agree that Flash should be limited. And, neither should any other technology.
The lessons we learn only drive us forward to an enhanced experience on the web. Limiting the ideas and creativity stiffles technology. Aycan, next time try researching your subject more thouroughly so that your article has content that is practical to CURRENT web designers.
while i do agree there's some people out there who want to make everything in flash ....there are quite a lot of great websites that know how to combine flash and html in a great way....and the sites arent that heavy to load.
flash can improve the design of pretty much any site if it's used correctly....nice colors and animations that do not distract visitors from content.
while the points stated in the review are correct, i think flash is used mostly to improve a website's image instead of making it user friendly or useable.
While i agree alot of un-professional self called "flash designers" make some terrible mistakes, the most breath taking websites out there are all mainly flash, and as broadband becomes increasingly more prodominant, the more we can expect that flash will increasingly come into play. Its ability to have soundscapes, 3d interaction, and 2d animation will push the boundaries of interactive websites and will leave the humble html websites for shame. Any designer that does not recognise this and doesnt take flash as a serious medium, will soon find themselves in a very narrowing section within the design industry because technology is meant to progress, not stagnate and if we all didnt explore these new mediums, 50 years from now the internet will be exactly the same as now and how boring would that be ?
If by any chance you havent seen any good flash sites, here are a few that are personal favourites of mine.
I have never been a flash fan. I think the only good use for it is very small animation boxes on the page and a good alternative to the GIF banner. Other than that it is a straightjacket.
Very good points made by my homey Alex. And if you've got a lot of text your not going to be putting it in flash anyway. Flash augments the original "only text" web with some really good design. When flash is used effectively a website will be truly benefitted and it will not detract from the users experience.
I agree with your comments, but they're nothing new. Everything you mention is well known by hard-core Flashers everywhere, and they all know the workarounds for the inherent problems of Flash site design.
It's easy to say what's wrong, and easy to say what not to do. Why not give advice on how you can overcome these problems instead of gratuitous fingerwaving.
True Flash can be big hassle to get into a site, but this year in particular has seen a large awareness of usability in all aspects of flash. Many of the Flash design forums and tutorial sites have really focused on how functional the Flash is in a page.
Like Alexxxita said, with few exceptions, most of the most incredible stuff seen on the web today is from Flash.
As far as Jakob Nielsen goes, well he has good points but his idea of what a website should look like is so utilitarian. There is only function, but no form. His site is a classic example of that.
Oh yeah, I've heard that the back button on the browser will be addressed in Flash 6.
I feel that flash is being abused in web design today.
I recently visited a portfolio site. The portfolio was made using flash only. It was 3.5 megs. This is ridiculous; all these flash designers need to remember their roots and also remember that not everyone is running around on cable modems.
As well as the reasons indicated, it is my understanding that there are search engine issues surrounding the use of Flash - might want to mention that as well.
I don't think people realize that flash is the program that is bringing us the most artistic interesting web content on the web ever. I think it is wrong to try to limiting Flash use. What you should do is instead educate designers so that they will know for what kind of website they should use it and which kind they shouldn't use it with.
In a flash site the back and forward buttons are supposed to be included in the flash interface. You don't need to use the browser butons. So why would you want them if the site is well made? When you say "you have to wait and look at a redundant animation " well if you had a web site done by a wise professional he would make a preloader that would not look like one and you would not know it is loading while you watch the preloader that could not be meaningless but informative for example. "You can neither copy nor save text sitting inside a Flash object" = Not true! When there is a lot of text that is informative you can copy and paste it if the designer who created the Flash site made it possible to do so.
I could go on and on. Please don't say that Flash is not good but that some web designers are incompetent.
It doesn't look very professional to have all this wrong info on Flash on your site.
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