Regular readers of this blog may have picked up the fact that I am not a fan of Flash animations on business web sites. So why do I hate Flash? Well, maybe hate is a bit strong, but there are several reasons why I avoid the use of Flash on business web sites.
There is no question that some Flash animations are pretty cool, but on a business site I think that busy animations distract from the main message. Fancy animations say more about how clever the web designer is, and less about your company’s message and the site’s content. Its the same reason that I avoid overuse of fancy transitions and animations in presentations. They distract from the content.
I preach frequently on the benefit of bringing customers back to your site on a regular basis. A fancy Flash home page soon becomes wearisome, and after a few visits is more likely to drive customers away than bring them back. I often thing of the web site of a former associate that had an animation that included the sound of running water. I swear that every time I visited their site, it made me need to go to the bathroom!
There are some technical reasons for avoiding Flash. First, Flash sites take longer to load. I don’t like to keep customers waiting while my site loads. If you have a lot of customers working in the Instrument or Maintenance shop, consider that the shop often gets older hand-me-down computers, and big sites are even worse on an old machine.
Another increasingly common problem with Flash is that more and more customers are using portable devices to access the internet, and Flash doesn’t run on most portable devices like Blackberry, iPhone, iPad and Android. And portable users often have limited bandwidth available, so even if Flash sites do display okay, they take even longer to load.
So there you have it, several compelling reasons to avoid Flash animations on your business web site. If you need help designing a compelling site without the use of Flash, give us a call for a free, no obligation needs analysis.