I agree that some flash could be employed, say on the header to spice things up. But it needs to be thoroughly tested on different browsers and different PC system because some (older) PCs may crash because of memory usage to load the flash animation. To be honest, professional corporate website like Novell would have tested it extensively before they deploy it to the mass public. As for me, I won't do it.
The mac has difficulty playing flash anywhere near as it should. I havn't tried it yet, but I think trying to view a website like 2advanced.com on a Mac would be virtual suicide
well i would use it, but for small elements (not large fields), such as menus or something. Flash can really make it nice in combination with photoshop
I do make flash but I don't use it on my sites. It is very annoying to most people and that is why I don't use it on a lot of my sites. Some people have to much spyware and flash can make it even worse by crashing your computer.
That's an interesting topic, as a web surfer I don't like flash and I never use it on my sites. But it could be difficult for a web designer to convince his clients of this.
hi guys im kinda newbie in vbulletin . . . after Ive upload a flash it only displays a white rectangular shape . . . can anyone help me thnx!
Flash has it's place. It's not for everyone and it really depends on your target audience. If you are running a forum or a site that is mostly content driven. Then I would agree that flash has no place in that arena. However, if you are in a creative, design, multimedia or education then flash can be your best friend. I create many online tutorials in flash so the visitor can interact with the demo. I also have lots of demo video files that I use flash instead of streaming video. Not only does the flash file load faster but it also saves me bandwidth. I guess I would ask the question. From those of you who absolutly hate it. How well do you know it? I myself used to advise my clients not to use it. Mostly because I didn't know how to use it. Once I became a "so called" expert in flash. I can't see myself not using it. I don't recommend it for every site but if you use it well it can be VERY useful. I will agree with sayyes on the flash intros. My suggestion is that if the customer has to think or look for the "skip intro" button/link. The intro is TOO LONG. If you really want a flash intro it's always best to keep it really short and sweet like 5 - 10 seconds.
A good use of Flash would be in places that visitors hardly notice. That means NOT in the front/main page (and even asking your visitor to download Flash Player before they can enter, the easy way out is the "X" button on the top-right corner, LOL)
I'd say the most flash I'd ever use is for the navigation (if that). I don't like using it, and I dont like being the user of it but it does (unfortunatly) have its uses and advantages.
Flash is great when it's being used in a right way, who said flash can't be implented without being a pain? Most jpegs are bigger than a well-designed vector animation made in flash. The problem is that most of the optimized sites that are made for traffic and adsense don't look any good most of the time anyway. I see a lot of sites here that are simple templates... Some may think flash is too much but just take a look at sites like mtv.com... Flash has done a lot of great things for me, I made a career on creating flash animations, even for other purposes than online use: TV/video, VJ images in clubs and so on... you just need to invest time in it and use it in the right way. For example: When you create a simple blog on scripting Flash won't add much extra, if you make an entertainment site flash could do wonders for making it more stimulating and professional. It's not ALL about content, the eye wants to be pleased as well
I tend to avoid flash like a plague and I don't even have flash installed. So the answer to both questions for me would be no. I am not that much against those flash videos that are clearly made to be standalone videos, but I can't stand flash being used as part of site design. There may be a better alternative to flash for those who like having flash-like capabilities and it is animated SVG. It is open standard and will probably be supported out of the box by at least some of the major browsers (Mozilla and Firefox for sure, Opera most likely and let's hope IE too). Till then, html, CSS and javascript with gifs, jpegs and png's ought to be enough. Thanks Daniel