All flash sites are bad in lots of ways. I think flash should be used for Nav bars and Headers and intros only. There is only 2 good all flash sites i know of. it is www.macromedia.com and www.nike.com

Reply

Yeah, flash site are fancy to look at, but when it take a life to load... I totally agree with all of you, flash elemnts OK, but full flash sites NO - unless that site is to show how good you are creating flash site and animations.

Another point is, search engine and robots don't like flash very much, they are no good for your Search Engine Optimization (SEO). And SEO is a very important matter if you want your site to be listet in the first 10 results.

Reply

To certain websites concerned with copyright issues, Flash is beneficial to them because visitors cannot copy text from their site and infringe on their copyright.

Reply

You can't copy/paste text from/in them.
>> U can copy the text if the creator set to allow it to.

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....
>> U can copy the URL if the creator set to allow it to.

They're slow to load, high in graphics, not dynamic enough regarding resolutions etc
>> loading can be adjusted if proper adjustment is made.

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 ass.
>> Flash content can be dynamic.

It often gets far too confusing and misleading for users.
>>That depend on the person who created it, if he/she had place the users 1st before everything else.

Not everybody has flash support, so you limit your target audience even more.
>> Most new browser come with flash plugin installed. Flash plugin can be downloaded for free.

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.
>>Agree, musics and sounds can be annoying if it does not give the users an option to have it turned off. It should allow music on/off, for some users speakers may be not product quality sound.


I also agree that full flash site have difficulties in getting ranking in search engines.

 

 

 

Reply

You can use flash to your advantage, but not to overuse (abuse) it.

While researching on road-map development of where Mambo CMS was heading towards, I stumbled across Mambo Awards for best site using Mambo, the best site is by Mambo Solutions which you can see at http://www.mambosolutions.com , to me, they have used flash well. Not completely in flash, but enough to make a site that much better.

I disagree with using flash for menus unless waiting time is minimal, being able to get to the links and what the viewer is looking for is more important than to have them waiting because they've got no navigation means.

People will not notice small sections of flash though, I had already been to Mambo Solutions and didn't realise the heading till I saw it on the awards, only then was I interested in the look of it. So I suggest, unless you're wanting people to look at your site because of how awesome you've made it then you should go with it, because you're expecting them to view the site for it's looks and not the content.

Visualise your target audience and make it how you see fit, looks, content or a bit of both, it's up to you in the end.

Cheers,


MC

Reply

Full flash sites are either amazing, or completly horrid. A good flash site will be functional at the same time as looking good. Personaly, I just use HTML... Probobly because i dont know anything else!

Reply

I dislike sites that rely entirely on flash, as they are usually overly complex, take too long to load (especvially for those poor 56k users )

Menus in flash are a good idea, as they make a site more dynamic, but again they still need to be kept simple, as too much is a bit of a turn-off.

Reply

Sites that use alot of flash are cool, but only if you have a high-speed connection or alot of time on your hands. However, I think having a lot of flash on your site tends to make it "busy" and less professional. Having a flash menu is a good way to make a site interactive somewhat, but having alot of it really can bring a site down...

Reply

sites that use flash is nice, but I was never a true fan of a full flash-based website. Unless, all you plan is to dazzle your viewers with pretty colors and sounds...it seems somewhat useless in my opinion ^_^

Reply

Flash sites are bad The most important task for a website is to give information. But with full flash sites that's not the case. I think it's only acceptable if the whole point of the site is the design...

Reply