Flash Design
Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform that is used to add animation and interactivity to your website. If you've ever seen moving or animated content on a web page, chances are it was Flash you were looking at.
When it comes to first impressions, there's nothing more effective than Flash. With Flash you can create rich, interactive content that will give life to otherwise inanimate portions of your website, and help draw visitors into an experience they will remember.
That having been said, there are some things to keep in mind if you are considering using Flash on your website. The two biggest probems you will likely encounter with your use of Flash are large file size, which can lead to long loading times on slow internet connections, and a lack of search engine index ability. Thankfully, both of these problems can be solved by an experienced Flash designer.
Large file size:
What's the point of having stunning Flash content if it takes your visitors too long to access it? When building a Flash animation there is a fine balance to be found that will allow for both a small overall file size and high quality images and effects. We solve the problem of file size by encoding images in a way that will allow them to retain a high level of visual quality while reducing their overall size. This results in a Flash animation that is both quick loading and visually optimized.
Search Engine Visibility:
Another problem you may encounter in your use of Flash is that for the most part, any text rendered within the Flash animation is completely invisible to search engines. What this means, is that if you use Flash to display a large amount of the text content on your website, you will likely see poor search engine rankings as a result.
The way we solve this is by mainly using Flash for images and other aesthetic portions of a website, while building the text portions of your site with code that is fully visible to search engines. This will allow the search engines to index your website content, and you should see greatly improved rankings as a result. Another benefit of this approach is that it will also improve the overall loading time of your website, which will allow visitors on slower internet connections to access your content quickly and easily.
If you're considering using flash on your website, send us your project details to receive a free quote for your project.