What is Flash, and Does Your Website Need It?

What is Flash?

Since hitting the market in late 1996, Flash technology has become one of the most widely-adopted ways to add animation and interactivity to websites, and sometimes form the basis for nearly the entire website itself. The Flash Player is the free application that web users use to view Flash files, and is available for most operating systems and integrates into most web browsers. Flash technology is distributed by Adobe Systems (which also distributes the popular Acrobat or “PDF” technology), which acquired the technology through a merger with Macromedia in 2005).

Flash files, which are also sometimes known as “flash movies”, have a file extension of “.swf”, and may be an object of a web page, strictly “played” in a standalone Flash Player, or incorporated into a Projector, a self-executing Flash movie with the .exe extension in Windows. Flash Video files have a .flv file extension and are utilized from within .swf files.

The most recent versions of Flash include a technology called “Actio
Script”, which has the same syntax as JavaScript, but which has a different programming framework and associated set of class libraries. This Actio
Script is used to create the user interactivity in many Flash movies.

Most recently, Flash is being used together with the XML capabilities of the user’s web browser to display dynamic and content in the user’s browser. Because Flash technology provides more comprehensive support for so-called “vector” graphics than the web browser itself, Flash is a powerful addition to the capabilities of a the browser. This technology is currently in its early stages, and it’s likely to become increasingly powerful in the years to come.

Uses of Flash

The original uses of Flash focused primarily on non-interactive animations and movies. This is likely due in part to the fact that the software (as well as the computers running the software) was not as powerful as today, didn’t offer the option of significant interactivity, and there were fewer developers with expertise in the relatively new technology.

Flash now permits such a high level of user interactivity that significant portions of a website can be built in Flash, and provide the user with an exciting way to navigate through the website’s content.

Flash is now also an increasingly popular way to display videos over the Internet. YouTube uses Flash technology to display its movies to users, and the technology can be used to protect video content or force users to watch advertisements before the desired content is displayed.

Benefits of Flash

Free to Web Users. The most recent version of Flash is always available for download, for free, from the Adobe website.

Versatility. Flash players are available for use in all major operating systems (including Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, and Linux), and a number of other computing devices.

Wide Adoption Rates. The Flash Player has already been installed on more than 98% of the Internet-connected desktop computers worldwide. The current installation rates are even higher, over 99%, in the “mature markets” that include the U.S., U.K. and Canada.

Small Files. The use of vector graphics, combined with other programming code, allows Flash files to be smaller than standard video clips and bitmapped graphics. For files that are streamed to users, the smaller size will consume less bandwidth than traditional files.

Fast Player. Compared to other web browser plug-ins (such as Java, QuickTime and Windows Media Player), the Flash Player has a small install size, a quick time to download, and will quickly initialize in the user’s browser.

Possible Time Savings. By using the Actio
Script programming language, you can save a lot of time by scripting instead of traditional animating techniques.

Adobe Integration. Because of common elements across the technologies, you may be able to save time and resources if you use other Adobe creative products such as Photoshop, Illustrator or Dreamweaver) to develop your website.

Drawbacks of FlashCost to Developers. Although the Flash Player is free for download to all users, the Adobe software that is needed to create the Flash movies is not free. The current retail price of a license for the stand-alone Flash development tool is approximately $700. There are less-expensive third-party options, but these software packages do not have the full host of features as the Adobe product.

Suboptimal Format for Some Types of Content. If the content that you want to provide to your users or customers is in a single format (such as text or audio), then other technologies may provide better performance and consume less of your user’s CPU power than a Flash movie.

Small Files, but Maybe Not Small Enough. Though Flash files are relatively small, their size may still be a problem (or at least a cause of great frustration) for users who are still accessing the Internet through a dial-up or slow DSL connection.

Temptation to Go Overboard. Because Flash Technology is so powerful and flexible, there is sometimes a temptation to add more and more of the “bells and whistles” to the content that you want to publish. Sometimes, though, this actually makes the experience worse for the user because it distracts from your message.

Getting Up to Speed. If your developers have not used Flash before, then it may take some time to learn how to create the Flash movies you envision. Search Engine Issues. Flash movie files are not themselves crawlable by search engines, which means that if you have important sales or other copy embedded in file, it will not be indexed by Google or any other search engine.

Because of its power and efficiency, Flash technology has been used to power many of the aggressive online advertisements. In response, many tools and browser plug-ins are available for users to disable the Flash Player in their browsers. If a user has Flash disabled and is not otherwise able to navigate your website, then they may leave your website and you’ll lose a customer or client.

Bottom Line

Flash technology can be a very powerful tool to make your website a compelling experience for your users. However, you will need to be sure that your Flash implementation actually serves to help your users, and fits within your budget.

The video and audio players on our MemberSpeed plugins use flash technology in the media players.