HTML & Flash

Html is the most basic language used to build websites (although often websites will include half a dozen different languages or more). It is obviously useful, but does have its limitations. The biggest limitation is motion. HTML doesn’t allow for (most) movement like an animation.

In comes FLASH. Flash is a program developed by Macromedia (now Adobe) that runs a language called Action Script. It can do some pretty nifty stuff. You might have seen all flash websites that animate in and out of every frame, etc. Most of these websites are done by graphic designers to show off skills, but MOST aren’t functional as updateable, common use sites.

Because Flash files are usually quite large, you need a high-speed connection to run the site. Most businesses now run on high speed, and home connections are getting faster all the time. This is a step in the right direction, but before you commit to a lot of flash in your website, ask yourself, are you sure everyone who might want to use your site will be running on high-speed?

Flash animations and sites are generally inappropriate for businesses. How can you be sure that your customers aren’t running on their old 56k dial up? You might lose business if you have too much flash on your site!

On the other hand, it can be great for family blogs where you know everyone in the family has a high speed connection.

While flash can be impractical as a base for a website, it is possible to create nice animations or menus using flash. Several pages in this website (www.andreachristensen.com) use flash for menus.

The last thing to consider when contemplating a flash element is the cost. Because of the time involved in creating custom animations, a flash element can be quite expensive. Again, because of this you might want to choose one or two basic flash elements for a site.