i am redesigning my site and thinking of having a flash site

you are your opinions on flash

found a template that looks proffessional as many templates just scream TEMPLATE at you i dont think this one does


Template (http://www.templatehelp.com/aff/preview.php?aff=killersites&skin=23&locale=en&currency=0&pr=yes&src=yes&nt=yes&help=yes&sample=yes&faq=yes&nmg=yes&auth=yes&down=yes&chm=&hide_flash=0&search=&PHPSESSID=0aaf392e130b40d7683787a1af4f0aba&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.websitetemplates.name%2Fwebdesign-templates.jsp&i=7916)

Nice template, though personally I'm not a huge fan of Flash.

neither was i till i saw that template

although if i dont like it i can revert to the html version

Yeah, an HTML version of that would be nice. Very clean and professional.

Flash sites are nice, but no good for us poor guys with only 56K modem. Maybe you could redirect slow connections to HTML version.

The "intro" turned me off straightaway, and the music interfered with what I was listening to. Not a good start :)

You could make a html version with a few flash areas, would speed up loading times no end.

Flash sites are nice, but no good for us poor guys with only 56K modem. Maybe you could redirect slow connections to HTML version.

I agree, Flash may be great and all... but people forget that still a large % of the world uses Dialup and hate waiting, and when they have to wait after so many seconds for a website to load... they generally move onto the next website.

Oh boy. Where to begin...

Well, here's what you're up against.

1. You are relegated to a specific number of words/characters you are allowed to display within any box on the page. Need to say less? It'll look crappy. Need to say more? Tough!

2. How is someone supposed to bookmark a page for later reference, or send a page to someone else for input?

3. How are search engines supposed to spider your site?

4. How is the mobile browsing audience supposed to view your site? This is a fast-growing population, and it generally consists of people with higher incomes.

5. How does someone with special browsing needs make the necessary adjustments to be able to use the site? Change text size? Apply user-based style sheets to overcome individual issues of color-blindness? Read your site with a text browser?

6. Some people simply don't care for Flash and do not use it. It is a peripheral technology, a plug-in, an optional online component, not a core Web technology, like (X)HTML and CSS.

7. For those who do use Flash, what's to say your site will conform to their version? Yes, 95-98% of the browsing world has Flash available, but those numbers decrease dramatically when you look at legacy Flash versions and compatibility. Don't count on people doing Flash upgrades just so they can see your site. The chances someone will do this versus just looking somewhere else for hosting are remote at best.

8. The bandwidth issues have already been stated. It's not to say you won't have those issues with a static site, but you can optimize much better. When you try to pack an entire Web site into a single presentation, you're going to have a tough time making it friendly for people with limited downloading capabilities.

So, you run the very real risk of alienating a sizable portion of your audience...all in exchange for some shiny objects...almost all of which you can get in static HTML anyway! All of the rollover effects can be replicated with little difficulty. The only thing you lose is the page build-up effect, and believe me, that's no great loss.

So, that's my take on using Flash. The visual impact can be entirely replicated without all of the Flash negatives, and that's just what I'd do if I was you. Create something with that same impact, but without the Flash.

found a template that looks proffessional as many templates just scream TEMPLATE at you i dont think this one doesYou would be download #6, and that's just from this one template outlet. It may not scream template now, but when someone's seen it a few times in different places, it sure will scream "template" then! :)

My general recommendation: use full-flash websites only in those cases if the visual/animation aspect of the site is the most important factor. For example, if you wish to have a very animated Flash site for kids, for music fans of a band, etc. In most cases however it is better to have an HTML site with embedded Flash pieces (be it animations, interactive elements, etc.) into it to add “extra flavor” to the website.

I viewed the template you mentioned. It really looks professional and has a potential to catch your potential customer’s attention form the first moment! The visitor will at once think: “Oh these guys really seem to be advanced pros in the Internet!” . On the other hand, I see that this template is about web hosting company. And web hosting definitely is not the area in which animated effects in the site are that much important.

My own site is FULL_Flash. But I have a good motivation for that. :usflag:

ok cheers guys, well everybody hates flash then lol

will be sticking with html i think :)

FLASH just need be used correctly, at corrct places!

You should use both. Give the users an option.

The temlate was made in flash looks nice and dynamic but it isnt funcional. It's my mind :)

As a designer I love Flash. But as normal surfer I hate it. I don't wait for it to load. If I am supposed to review a site and I see it's in flash I wait for 10 seconds. If I don't see it loaded I just give up seeing it or reviewing it.

I don't use flash for my sites or for my clients. When they tell me they want flash I just remind them that the main text should be plain HTML so that it can be indexed. A small lecture about SEO makes them change their minds :D

Apparently redesigning you plan to do is really worth your efforts and resources if you expect to benefit from how your site will look and not rather from what it will contain.

I agree with

HTML ....

flash is an optional

I think that the site looks good but I would agree with the rest on the Flash. I think you have to pick a place for it. When I design a site I might only have one page in flash.

Good Luck,
-T

Gentlemen!

90% of the criticism above about Flash was correct (including my own criticism above).

However, one thing repeatedly stressed by the users, is not very correct. To be exact, it is slightly incorrect… or… completely incorrect if we are fair! I am sorry…:s

It is the “fact” that Flash requires large file sizes, and that Flash need be avoided to reduce the download sizes. Flash is just a “bag” that can contain many things:
- programming (which does not require large file sizes),
- a few nice tasteful images (which also hardly require large file sizes),
- or a large collection of big images nd long audio files (which do require large file size, be they used inside a site with or without Flash).

So the point is that the most “flashers” have very little understanding in Flash, and they love creating large Flash movies with many large images and transaction effects… well, say, sunsets, clouds, human faces and other crappy images found via the Google mage search in 20 seconds… It takes just a few minutes to make such a flash movie, and then to tell everybody, that those image transaction have a “psychological meaning” etc… Plus, the fact that that crap loads 3MB in 15 minutes gives the feeling (to that “flasher”) that his “creation” is something “valuable” and big… Plus, a 500KB large audio file can be added to that “creation” to make it ever cooler and mor “valuable”.:deer:

If you laugh, you got the point: large downloads are because of large images and audio. Flash itself is not responsible. FLASH, quite the contrary, is the smallest and most efficient way to hold images, animations and sounds in one file… So if somebody uses too much of those goods, that is not the problem of Flash…

Sorry…
:gone:

Good point Flasher :)

I think you nailed the problem with designers getting carried away with flash.

cheers for all your opinions

i am going with html and not with that template as it hasnt got a html version like i thought.

Anyway plan is to get a good template and get the site up with some new idea/pages to make it better than it look at the moment, and when i can afford it get a web designer to do it properly

FLASH just need be used correctly, at corrct places!

Exactly. There's nothing wrong with using flash, just as long as you put it in the right places & not the entire site.

Flash is great for things you must use it for flash should never be used for intro pages, or full websites. a place flash needs to be used at for example is http://www.comcast.net take a look at the navigation that would not function well unless it was flash. a website that is simple and that doesnt have 15+ pages has no use for flash unless you need it for a tutorial or junk flash works well if you have dsl/broadband and have the time and the knowhow to download the latest downloads... many people fear viruses and dont like downloads.

Flash can help your site look good as long as too much of it isn't used so that you're considering people with slow connections, it should be fine.

Yeah, like MTV. They use too much of it in the wrong places, IMO.

Nice template. You made it or choose it?

I am with HTML but not against of flash, I think flash is a good medium to put the imagination of an artist in motion especially when you are unable to express with words.

Although Flash is the most visually appealing of solutions, it has some MAJOR drawbacks. If you're running a Web site of any caliber -- you want people to go to it. Search engines don't like Flash -- they can't see it. Without good SEO (Search Engine Optimization) your site will have a hard time gaining much of a user base. Flash is slow to load, and there are still users out there that don't have the Flash plugin installed, and accessibility comes into play. If I were to make a recommendation, stay away from Flash if possible.

A good flash site can be amazing
Anyone who thinks flash is no good for web pages should check out the 2advanced website but, for your company website - stick with what you know don’t go try flash because it looks cool - Practice first – and stay away from stupid things like flash introductions!

56k is sort of like 640x480 resolution – if you still use it you’re going to miss out on the full internet experience because most designers don’t care (donno if that’s good or bad but there it is)

I use a php based design for my company site because I feel it works better for what I do.

Ok well here's my opinion. Flash intros on business websites = the worst idea ever to hit the internet.

Are you trying to show off how cool and hip you are with your fancy flash intro or are you trying to sell webhosting? If you owned a retail shop or another business would you force your customers to stand at your door and watch an advertisement for your compnay before the doors could be opened? No you wouldn't so whay woudl it be any different for an onlinr busiess.

Its a nice and easy on the eye template so why ruin it and have your customers leave even before the intro stops playing.

If you do go with flash I personally would only use it for an advertising banner like the one that is on there now. I dont know if I would use flash for navigation also.

Anyone who thinks flash is no good for web pages should check out the 2advanced website but, for your company website -

Well thats great and all for a Multi Media company showing off their skill but what use is a flash intro or a full flash site for a hosting company.

Well thats great and all for a Multi Media company showing off their skill but what use is a flash intro or a full flash site for a hosting company.


the point was that flash can work as a full web page i never said it was a good idea for a web host

Flash should not be a requirement for a website.

Also, avoid sound.

Flash looks very professional and sleek but as it has been said can lead to slow loading times. Personally i like flash alot if it is done properly (like the site in question) allthough the continuous music gets annoying.

To me Flash is for presenting multimedia, not whole web sites..