full flash sites good or bad?

[avalon1405241471 0]

If your target audiences are both PDA and Computer users.

I would suggest you write to a script to read if the request is from PDA or a Computer then redirect them to the relevant page where the can see the page without much problem.

Flash is visually simulating but it has its downside like downloading time, compatibility and etc.

Plain HTML is safe viewing for almost all types of browsers.

Decide who will be your target audiences and work out from there onwards.

[dissipate 0]

if people want to do full flash sites, i'd personally recommend giving users an option of viewing the full flash site or going to a html site instead. like avalon said, flash has its downsides and people do use older computers sometimes that make flash a pain to view, whereas practically anyone on any computer can view html pages.usually when i'm relaxed and am casually browing, i don't mind full flash pages. however when i'm feeling grumpy or i'm rushing to just get simple information, i *hate* flash sites as it slows me down. sometimes i close the window before viewing the site even. that's how frustrating flash sites can get.

[rapco 0]

If it's for that mather.. i, as i surfer, rather get an .exe projector of the full site.. i mean, make it available for dwnloading... and make an html version of the site..Flash it's usually a grafci design show off... and it's cool, but i would rather wait my dap software to to the waiting for me, and i could see the site faster, more closely... FREE OF EVERY STRING!... and, if you're preocupided about hits... publish new content from time to time..

[hihihihi88 0]

I think it is good if you contorl the file size of the flash , you know not the big size equal to a good quality of illustration .

[twistedanimator 0]

Flash sites have some huge disadvantages.

You can't copy/paste text from/in them.

You can't copy an URL to show a specific thing to somebody else, you need to tell them what options to click and all to get there....

They're slow to load, high in graphics, not dynamic enough regarding resolutions etc

They're very hard to manage and maintain in a dynamic environment. If you need to update your site often it's a pain in the *bottom*.

It often gets far too confusing and misleading for users.

Not everybody has flash support, so you limit your target audience even more.

The sounds with them are often uncalled for and can lead to increadible annoyance with some users. Using sounds on the web without users expecting them is a big No No.

Flash is very nice and amasing for high quality feed, but not at all an option for full website, as it defeats the entire concept of what a website is supposed to be. Accessable, dynamic, and expansive.

I agree with all of the above. However having said that I must point out a few things.

Animators really struggle to get good exposure. Video content on the web is just too BIG, especially for people with 54kb modems, etc. So for an animator flash is just the most amazing tool ever. I am an animator and when I want to showcase my work, I generally use flash and/or Director Shockwave. With directors w3d features I can have awesome 3d content on my sites with very little effort. For someone who is skilled in scripting and behaviours 3d content can change the look and feel of your site and make it OH SO MUCH MORE ATTRACTIVE, and interactive too! Plus I have to say that flash has so much potential, it may solve some of the above issues in later editions. Also remember that since you are not limited to rasterinfo (pixels), you can create Vector images a fraction of the size of a pixelated picture. Raster images have an X a Y and a colour code for EACH PIXEL! Vector has an x and a Y for each vector point, a curvature line, a line colour and a fill. The images size does NOT determine its quality, therefore it uses less space than any type of Bitmap or compression (ie. jpg/gif). Also because of scripting, which is EASY, it gives a very versatile tool to people who may not have the patience or the time to invest in a complex language. All of the above are very important reasons why Flash is indispensable as a web content authoring tool. Maybe I am just stating the obvious here, but an artist or animator just has one focus. For us to have to learn complex programming in order to showcase our work on the web is just unrealistic. Scripting is really sufficient for most animators and using it is a pleasure. Sorry for my rant, but I had to protect my BELOVED FLASH. @_@

[dj:nich 0]

Flash sites have some huge disadvantages.

You can't copy/paste text from/in them.

You can't copy an URL to show a specific thing to somebody else, you need to tell them what options to click and all to get there....

They're slow to load, high in graphics, not dynamic enough regarding resolutions etc

They're very hard to manage and maintain in a dynamic environment. If you need to update your site often it's a pain in the *bottom*.

It often gets far too confusing and misleading for users.

Not everybody has flash support, so you limit your target audience even more.

The sounds with them are often uncalled for and can lead to increadible annoyance with some users. Using sounds on the web without users expecting them is a big No No.

Flash is very nice and amasing for high quality feed, but not at all an option for full website, as it defeats the entire concept of what a website is supposed to be. Accessable, dynamic, and expansive.

Well for the webmaster this is a upside unless you are excellent at this or just print screen it will be really hard to copy images off of the site so this is a good point for webmasters/

 

I love flash and would recommend this to anyone this is excellent and will be making my site Flash pretty soon.

[Unregistered 0111405241546 0]

I don't really like flash sites, because they take longer to load, but they do have some cool effects. The only flash I would put in my website though are when you first enter the website. And I hate when there are sounds, most of the time I'm listening to music, and when you put your mouse over a link, it makes annoying sounds.

[dj:nich 0]

well that is a good point about flash like i said before i am for all flash as long as they know what they are doing

[Sten 0]

I don't like full flash sites.I tend to get bored waiting too long for a page to load.A bit of flash here and there is cool but the whole site in flash is really horrible.Especially if the person who made it ads in some stuff that isnt necesary and makes it take longer to load.

[MediYama 0]

Yeah, even though a site can look really cool when it's made in flash, it makes it REALLY slow. Of course it depends, but most time .. No.

[5666ja 0]

anoying but ive found ones that load quite fast at flashvillage great templates

[darasen 0]

I disdain flash, thus I use firefox and flash blocker. On a professionally developed site (having an actual graphic artist as well as promammer) that is expected to be flashy I can understand ts use. Mostly though it reminds me of the old blink tag.Of course hter biggest issue is that a web page should be designed to draw people in not turn them away.

[dBahn 0]

In response to the original poster:I will be truthful and honest with you. I extremely dislike flash sites, as a surfer and web developer. Many people, as soon as they see such a website, they simple turn away. Long ago, a friend of mine made a website out of a centered swf. Using Google Analytics he found out most people spent on average, 2 seconds on his site. Sure there, was a plenty of good content, but it was a Flash site, and that's all that mattered to a visitor. I read in a web design magazine several months ago this quote: "I don't see why everyone doesn't design their websites in Flash...it's so much easier than HTML or CSS..." Maybe so, but it might be worthwhile to note that the website closed down 1 1/2 months later.

[Miles 0]

I agree with dBahn, if I go to a flash-based website, I quickly leave. In particular, if it tries to play any sounds, due to me liking to listen to music on the PC, I'm forced off it with a flea in my ear, so to speak.

[skedad 0]

The only real fully functional flash sites that I like are probably the movie sites. I have seen many of them... but the one that really stands out in my mind at the moment was the last XMen movie - X3. I mean from start to finish, it was all about selecting your character, and it follows through a lot of filtering effects and then it shows like a clip, and a lot of stats on that mutant... it was really cool.I haven't really followed fantastic sites lately... I cycle through a lot of favorites on my Homepage and in my Bookmark sites... but I also see like WWE.com with the flash menus.. and they scroll rather nicely... I see personal sites that actual graphic and web designers do for themselves and they are really well thrown together!I see sports pages like NFL.com that put up teams and scroll around too.It can be done very well and not bog down so much bandwidth... and then there is constant looping over and over that make navigating difficult... But I am still a big fan of flash sites and gaming programs... Well done. All I have to do is get a better grasp of using flash so I can keep adding it on to my page.- skedad -