Designing Flash Websites: Pros and Cons - When Should You Use Flash?
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As you have probably been able to tell by now, the specific requirements of each individual website vary greatly. In general, it is impossible to say whether a website would benefit from Flash or not. However, for the typical website with the typical needs-a small business trying to get its information out and sell a few products-Flash simply does not work. The website needs to be available to as many viewers as possible, and they should have quick and easy access to any part of the website. A small business cannot afford to turn away any of its potential customers.
As previously mentioned, a boutique website that represents creativity or art is a definite candidate for Flash design. These websites are not looking for as many casual customers; their customers are specific individuals that they have referred to their website and with whom they have a personal relationship. Even if the customer cannot view the website, there are other avenues of communication.
One situation in which it is acceptable for a company to use a Flash website or well-designed typical website is a large corporation that sells a low-cost retail product with a very large amount of customers. These "brand name" companies that everyone recognizes have significant resources and are capable of paying for the absolute highest quality website. As such, the pleasing graphics of Flash will not have any advantage over a typical graphic layout. However, Flash will allow for a high degree of interactivity and animation.
These large companies do not have to worry about estranging any of their customers because they have so many that it is irrelevant if a small portion of them cannot see the website. The companies also have numerous other avenues of communication by which customers can get information about them. In addition to that, these companies can choose to develop two versions of the same website: one Flash version for the general user and another, non-Flash version, for those users that cannot use Flash.
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