[johnxarce]

Flash-based sites have been a craze since the past few years, and as Macromedia compiles more and more great features into Flash, we can only predict there will be more and more flash sites around the Internet. However, Flash based sites have been disputed to be bloated and unnecessary. Where exactly do we draw the line? Here's a simple breakdown.

The good:

Interactivity

Flash's Actionscript opens up a vast field of possibilities. Programmers and designers have used Flash to create interactve features ranging from very lively feedback forms to attractive Flash-based games. This whole new level of interactivity will always leave visitors coming back for more.

A standardized site

With Flash, you do not have to worry about cross-browser compatibility. No more woes over how a certain css code displays differently in Internet Explorer, Firefox and Opera. When you position your site elements in Flash, they will always appear as they are as long as the user has Flash Player installed.

Better expression through animation

In Flash, one can make use of its animating features to convey a message in a much more efficient and effective way. Flash is a lightweight option for animation because it is vector based (and hence smaller file sizes) as opposed to real "movie files" that are raster based and hence much larger in size.

The bad and the ugly:

The Flash player

People have to download the Flash player in advance before they can view Flash movies, so by using Flash your visitor range will decrease considerably because not everyone will be willing to download the Flash player just to view your site. You'll also have to put in additional work in redirecting the user to the Flash download page if he or she doesn't have the player installed.

Site optimization

If your content was presented in Flash, most search engines wouldn't be able to index your content. Hence, you will not be able to rank well in search engines and there will be less traffic heading to your site.

Loading time

Users have to wait longer than usual to load Flash content compared to regular text and images, and some visitors might just lose their patience and click the Back button. The longer your Flash takes to load, the more you risk losing visitors.

The best way to go is to use Flash only when you absolutely need the interactivity and motion that comes with it. Otherwise, use a mixture of Flash and HTML or use pure text if your site is purely to present simple textual and graphical information.

[bscs]

ayoko din talaga ng Flash Site mas gusto ko Text Based with GFX

[necrolyte]

as of now, I prefer flash-based website and planning to build my personal website soon. yun na kasi ang modern. been there, done that. medyo naumay na ko sa HTML+graphics kind of website. hehe...

[necrolyte]

one thing, depende kasi kung ano ang market orientation, target audience and forte ng gagamit. so let say more on information ang gusto mo, recommended to use HTML or server-side scripts like ASP/PHP/JSP and so on...

pag naman more on multimedia, syempre mas may dating ang flash website and since nag exist na din ang ActionScript 2.0 and 3.0, you can create such animation with an optimal file size that will allow your website to load easily over the internet. syempre kasama na din ang optimization ng files na i-import mo na bitmap sa loob ng flash such as JPEGs and PNGs.

[kyoawacko]

The Flash player

People have to download the Flash player in advance before they can view Flash movies, so by using Flash your visitor range will decrease considerably because not everyone will be willing to download the Flash player just to view your site. You'll also have to put in additional work in redirecting the user to the Flash download page if he or she doesn't have the player installed.

Site optimization

If your content was presented in Flash, most search engines wouldn't be able to index your content. Hence, you will not be able to rank well in search engines and there will be less traffic heading to your site.

mr admin may solution n po dito. try to use swfobject javascript to have a equivalent html of your flash based site. In that way, you will still have your ranking for SEO wise and the visitors can still see the site content even if they don't have flash playe installed on their machine.

[necrolyte]

regarding naman sa SEO thingy, meron tayong tinatawag na bagong technology which is SWFAddress, try to search that on the internet for more info, ginagamit na din namin yan dito sa office namin, SWFAddress allows your website to have it's separate URL for each and every pages of your Flash website at pwede mo ma-access yung certain page by just giving the specific URL. pwede din lagyan ng additional titles kada click mo ng links.

read more...
http://ajaxian.com/archives/swfaddre...king-for-flash