Tampa website design and hosting

Shawn - April 20th, 2010

Gone in a Flash?

While we’re location-less and addicted to everything wireless from Apple to Blackberry, Flash sites aren’t making a real smooth transition from the big screen to the mobile one.

No argument here on the look and feel of Flash, but the question remains: If a site is Googled on an iPad and can’t be seen, is it really there?

So what do you do? Do you wait it out with your Flash site until your graphics can be supported and seen by the mobile masses, or do you make a change?

You basically have four choices:

• Create a brand new HTML site that can be accessed by anyone, anywhere
• Have a mobile sidekick (sister site) built that will work in tandem with your Flash site and allow you to reach both audiences (those at home on their Dell laptops and those in Starbucks with their Smartphones)
• Keep your Flash site and wait for technology to catch up with you
• Our recommendation: Get the best of both by having a site designed with minimal Flash elements that don’t impact the user’s experience if they can’t view them; you’ll get the polish of some Flash animation, but won’t shut out visitors with non-Flash enabled browsers

The thing is - it took a lot longer for old VHS video technology to be eclipsed by Blu-rays and DVDs than it did for Flash to be flat-left by mobile technology; contemporary windows close fast. Decisions aren’t given the latitude of years, but nanoseconds.

You make the call: is it better to look good or be found? Is it OK to stick with your Flash Face and just too bad if you can’t please everyone?

We’d really like to know what you think…and give us a buzz if you want to discuss your website options – it’s what we do.