Flash website design in Mayo

Before undertaking a Flash website design in County Mayo, there are a few things that you should consider:- How you expect the website to work, if it is suitable for your needs and who you are aiming at.

Adobe Flash is a tool for creating and presenting vector animations and videos over the web. You need a special plugin to view Flash movies that a lot of modern browsers now include as standard, and it is popular route for students and graphic designers to create CD Rom and web presentations with familiar and easy to use tools.

As a web designer in Mayo, I am not completely 'anti-Flash' (the animations in this website are delivered as Flash movies) but it is often used badly and for the wrong reasons. So, when designing a website in County Mayo, Flash often comes a poor second to a well optimised XHTML and CSS solution.

What is Flash good for?

Flash has many benefits when designed well, it is great for:-

• Delivering animations via the web
• Delivering low bandwidth video over the web (like YouTube)
• Creating web based games
• Creating web based applications
• Creating stand-alone CD Rom presentations
• Enhancing a good XHTML website

It also looks the same in every browser that has a suitable plugin, and is great for creating 'experience' based websites that rely on the look and feel, and even sound.

What are problems with Flash I should know about?

Using Flash for entire websites or navigation raises some issues that may cause you problems when developing an effective web design in County Mayo:-

• Users need the Flash plugin to view the website
• It doesn't work on all devices - eg iPhone
• Flash content can't be read by search engines
• Flash navigation can't be followed by search engines
• Development is slower and harder to update
• Flash can't compete with optimised HTML
• Sites can be large and slow to load
• Browser 'Back' buttons do not work
• Text can't be resized and can be difficult to read
• Browser 'Find in page' option does not work
• Poor Return on Investment

To summarise, Flash web design can be good if you are trying to create some sort of experience website for entertainment or a tourist attraction etc, or even a brand that is heavily promoted offline, outside the internet.

However, if you are trying to develop an effective web design in County Mayo, that needs to be found in search engines, be accessible to a large number of people, and needs to be easily and cost-effectively updated, then perhaps a Flash website is not the most appropriate route.