FLASH a no-no in a website?

[JacobHaug]

I will say this one more time...flash can be very accessible. I almost find it rude for someone like yourself to just leave because the website is fully flash. The designs put allot of time into that website and you should at least take a look.

As far as search engines go, flash websites can be listed in search engines, as google recently started listing them. But it is still kind of hard and normally the listing/keywords are not that great. One solution for this problem is that you could use invisible tags, and another solution is that you can, build two websites one XHTML/CSS and the other a flash website. I prefer the last solution, but have used both and they seem to be very effective.

[mr-ecommerce]

Sorry Jacob but it made me chuckle, the comment about it being rude to leave....

I leave sites all the time due to the way they are laid out, what technologies are embedded etc.

Having worked on the internet and BBSs for over 20 years now, I think I know what to avoid and what to stick with. I can usually tell before a page has loaded whether or not the information I am after is likely to be there, this is just experience I guess. Flash sites don't tend to "tell me anything" so why should I want to stay?

The web is what it is... an information treasure trove, flash is something that came along later and can be fudged in to a browser, if the user chooses, via a plug-in - hardly accessible in my book.

The biggest problem with Flash and probably one of the reasons I shy away from full flash based sites is that every man and his dog jumped on it when it first appeared. Home pages were popping up all over with flash based content that was simply flashy yet useless. I must admit to getting involved in flash myself in the early days but not for long!

Amateurs built lots of really bad flash sites with little content and lots of silly animations trying to show off the new technology. I see much the same today with very few well laid out flash sites. I really hate those sideways panning navigation menu's that dart around the screen while you hover over them!

We all have our own views and opinions on what is hot and what is not, I personally don't use flash at all, I don't believe it is the future in anyway shape or form, as I've said before, its getting dated and if anything people are pulling away from its use. Newer technologies are available, browser capabilities have moved on somewhat and most things can be done without the use of flash these days.

In 10 years time we will all be floating around in a 3D internet, take a look at secondlife.com if you have any doubts. (you need a decent PC and GFX card).

[JacobHaug]

Well, all I am saying is yes, flash has been around for a long time, but if you look at area's where they have a fiberotic system installed, you will see 98% FLASH!! But I can guarantee you XHTML/CSS is not the way of the future my man...something with allot of digital media.

But for now, I am a flash designer, because it pays about twice the amount a normal website would. Plus, I like flash, I know that new programs come in everyday, I think it is important to know all of the programs languages you can, I know XHTML/CSS, PHP, Pearl, ASP, on and on...but I seem to be gifted and quite good at ActionScript, and JavaScript!!