4 Reasons to Avoid a Flash Website

Flash websites were a big trend in the early 2000’s, and it’s still not uncommon today to run into an intro page with flash elements. But if your company’s website still requires a flash player to view, you could be losing business.

1. Flash isn’t SEO friendly
   SEO or “Search Engine Optimization” is the use of keywords and phrases that are picked up by search engines to help users find the web pages they’re looking for. If you want you business’ website to be found by popular search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Bing, and others, it’s important to incorporate SEO into your text. If you have a flash website, however, search engines won’t take your site’s text into account.
2. Compatibility Issues
   Last year Mozilla announced that it would no longer offer flash support for their web browser Firefox, which is estimated to be used by more than 10% of internet users. Flash websites are also incompatible with mobile devices such as the iPhone, iPad, and Blackberry devices. The use of mobile devices over desktop computers is increasing more and more, so having flash elements on your website could be losing you more traffic than you think.
3. Poor loading times and performance issues
   Flash websites tend to have a much higher bounce rate than other websites due to issues with loading and performance. Mobile site users who access websites from a smartphone or tablet, as well as users with lower speeds such as those who live in rural areas, are very likely to experience issues loading flash websites. Flash websites may load slowly or not at all, which means you may be losing valuable site traffic.
4. Flash isn’t user friendly
   Flash websites cost more to develop because they take far longer than a website built with HTML5. Any changes that need to be made, even something as simple as a color change, can take much more time to implement, costing you either time or money unnecessarily. Furthermore, flash isn’t open source, meaning developers have to purchase the software and users have to download the appropriate browser plugins to even view it, assuming their device is compatible.

Flash used to be the go-to software for web designers looking to impress, but that isn’t the case anymore. The right web designer can develop a personalized website just for your business that is professional, functional, and beautiful. View our portfolio for inspiration and ideas and then contact Design Interventions to get started on building or reworking your website today.