Viewing Thread:
"Flash websites for web design compainies."

These days, you go to a web design company website and 9 times out of 10 it will be done in Flash. “Why?” I ask myself. The whole skill of web designing is working with the restrictions of HTML and creating good-looking websites without “cheating” and using layers. All these Flash sites make me wonder if they are trying to cover something up.

Who knows, but it’s really peeing me off.

These days, you go to a web design company website and 9 times out of 10 it will be done in Flash. “Why?” I ask myself. The whole skill of web designing is working with the restrictions of HTML and creating good-looking websites without “cheating” and using layers. All these Flash sites make me wonder if they are trying to cover something up.

Who knows, but it’s really peeing me off.

Because some of the things you can do with Flash look really cool, and much better than a simple .gif animation, etc...

Yes, companies want visitors to their site to notice the flash and look in to the site, it offers much more in the way interactive and animation possibilities.

Also, are you implying that it doesn't take skill to create flash? In a way, it's true, just as you don't need skill to create a basic webpage, but to make an optimised flash presentation, clear, but something that grasps the viewer's attention and offers more scope than an HTML page would...that takes skill.

Turbonutter wrote:
> Who knows, but it’s really peeing me off.

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Most things do, dont they Turbonutter!

I think Multimedaia has its role on the Web, but Flash seems to be something we designers are either totally for, or totally against.

Personally, I think that bad design is more likely using flash, that it can sometimes be hard to navigate especially people used to normal HTML websites, and that it takes up resources that could be better spent improving the site's core value.

We all know that if a web page is fast and it takes loads of time for it to appear that the user is just going to press the back button and look elsewhere for business. This is why I feel that Flash can also lose visitors before they have even seen the site.

I do however think flash can be used very well in proportions, like banners or buttons. As they dont take up as much time to load.

Im not sure quite how flash websites optimise there sites for search engines but surely they must find it difficult, because the page will not consisit of any text only an image and probably hasnt got the space to fit in meta tags and alt tags.

So how do they do it?

A website can have the best flash in the world, but if no one sees it, its not much use!

.. I have to disagree on some aspects of where you say, "If a page takes to long, people will look elsewhere". I mean that can be true, but if the web site is about a specific topic, that your after, (e.g. Prices on Games) then people will wait around for it to load ... not forever of course, but long enough if the Web Page is created right.

I'm not sure how Flash is created, but from what I've seen, it has got to have much more kknolage involved than making HTML Pages .. .after all it can to so muc more than be used for animation, that from what I've seen, that seems to be it's most popular use.

It's just part of the evolution of the 'net. It would be stupid to say that we should stick to a language like HTML because to requires skill to code. The net is a platform for anyone and packages like Flash and Dreamweaver make it possible for anyone to have a prescence. I code in HTML and Javascript, but I am also a big fan of Flash because of it's loading times and streaming capabilities. One day an even more efficient plug-in will become available and an even better version of Flash will make the 'net a whole lot faster.

So, really, wht work with the restrictions of HTML, when there is so mouch more available using Flash, JavaScript, PHP, and all that :o)...... that is of course if you know how too, lol

Go to the virgin site that as far as I can figure out is all flash and its a right pain.

Ive seen a lot of sites with small bits of flash which do work, but on the whole as soon as it says loading I go elsewhere.

Can't be bothered to wait.

And I'll think you'll find that neither can most of the people out there.

so everyone agrees that flash can look good but i think we all know that it does need improving before lots of people start using it

Oh yes it looks good you can do more than create a full website with it, in fact creating a whole site is probably the worst thing you can do.

But buttons etc. yeah cool.

Again its all down to file size.

Been playing with Flash myself and I would only use it in parts of a site.