RE: FLASH:Corporate Site in Flash?

[Marc Hoffman, Poison Dart Frog Media]

At 09:15 AM 5/14/2000 , you wrote:

>When and when is it not appropriate to use Flash?

>

>I've just joined an organization who's site was the best example of how bad

>a project can look when designed by committee...So, in the reorg and

>subsequent request for a redesign of the site I can now see where the

>"marketing front end" could be produced solely in Flash. There are no SSL

>requirements, with all user logon info to be handled separately from a

>linked secure html page. The user base is primarily Windows 95/98 IE 4.0 and

>above.

>

>I've overcome an initial hurdle of the "Flash takes to long to load"

>complaint with a proof of concept demo...and now that I've been given the go

>head to run with it...I'm still hearing an echo of the CEO's comments "If

>this stuff is so great, how come I don't see more Flash on the big

>sites?"...I guess I could build a dup html site...but I sure would like to

>hear from others who have wrestled with this issue.

>...Jeff




Hi Jeff,


I'm sure this will get some good discussion going on our list (and, since 

my recent posts have been mysteriously delayed, much of that conversation 

may have happened before you see this!).


So, when is it and when is it not appropriate to use Flash?  I think of it 

in terms of benefits and drawbacks of Flash.



BENEFITS:

Streaming: Flash can present large amounts of content without long download 

waiting times, because a well-designed Flash movie starts streaming very 

soon after beginning to download. Content that would ordinarily be accessed 

by subsequent downloads of more HTML pages can now be displayed instantly 

because it has been downloaded while the viewer was busy with earlier content.


Scalability: especially if not using bitmaps, the ability to scale 

crystal-clear graphics to the available browser window space is a lovely 

feature.


Control of layout: simpler and more reliable than traditional Web page 

layout techniques. Ability to synchronize graphics, sound, and interactivity.


Interactivity: "smart" interactivity (that is, it can be scripted and 

customized session-by-session) that includes audio feedback.


Animation: good for entertainment, demos, tutorials, and adds a third 

dimension to navigation.


Sound: for feedback on interactive components, adds another dimension to 

multimedia, enables narratives to reinforce communications and learning.



DRAWBACKS:

Plug-in requirements: users need the plug-in. Scripted plug-in detection 

schemes are limited to environments that support them. Non-script schemes 

(using Flash to detect itself) have other problems. For instance, the user 

may end up in a loop where the browser's Back button keeps advancing them 

to the Flash (or non-Flash) page, and the Back button is therefore broken. 

Another associated problem is that a detection (gateway) page, in an effort 

to work fast, may not have sufficient content to allow proper search engine 

indexing.


Designers can get sucked into overly complex architectures that take too 

long to download, don't load properly in some environments (e.g. IE Mac 

4.5!), or play choppily (or not at all) on underpowered computers. Note: 

"underpowered" sometimes means last year's norm -- you have to decide who 

your audience is and whom you can afford to lose. Will Flash's advantages 

outweigh losing or even alienating some viewers?


Limited editability: unless using Generator and/or advanced scripting to 

draw content from databases or text files, most Flash work can be edited 

only by a Flash developer. I think it's unfair to create Flash for a client 

who needs frequent updates unless the client is aware that most Web 

developers won't have a clue as to how to update it.


Indexability: for the most part, search engines won't find content that's 

inside the Flash movie. This can be crucial, depending on how the client 

expects to draw traffic to his/her site. Meta tags and some text content on 

the page can help reduce this problem.


Poor rendering of tiny text: aliasing of small text can make it unreadable 

for users with their resolution set high (e.g. 1024x768) because it becomes 

blurred. A work-around is to use text fields to avoid anti-aliasing. But 

often a text-heavy site is best executed in straight HTML, not Flash.


Unorthodox navigation: some users want to use their Back button and become 

confused when this restarts the Flash presentation. The World Wide Web is 

frequented by mostly novices; it often amazes us developers how naiive our 

users are, but that's the reality. So every "new" technology that's added 

(including Flash) increases the learning curve and can add to user frustration.


Expense: this is a trade-off, but despite all the wondrous benefits of 

Flash, one essential consideration must be "Is it worth the extra 

cost?"  Flash is almost certain to cost more than non-Flash options.



I have not found an acceptable way to sell Flash without being quite frank 

with the client about all these factors. Consequently, I don't sell Flash 

to every client who's jazzed about it, and certainly not to every client 

who comes to me for general Web design and construction. But when it's 

appropriate, Flash is an extraordinary tool for Web content creation. Which 

brings up the biggest benefit (in my book): Flash enables a freedom of 

artistry that is far more difficult (if not impossible) in other Web media. 

Thus it offers the potential to create some great art while satisfying 

other missions such as commercial viability.




Marc Hoffman


Poison Dart Frog Media

Flash portfolio: http://www.dartfrogmedia.com/portfolio



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