*Please pardon the un-styled mess why I am rethinking and re-designing my blog!*
While doing some research for a blog post last night I came upon several flash websites that set off my usability radar. When I’m looking at a portfolio website (or any website really) I want to be able to find the information im looking for quickly and easily. I have condensed this rant down to 7 reasons why flash websites tend to suck.
Let me say this first: flash has its appropriate time and place. Video, animated cartoons, motion design, Video Tours ETC. Other than these situations I think its just unessicary internet ‘Bling‘. I should also note that the things I complain about below can be properly avoided in flash (probably with some actionscripting)…its just that most of the sites that utilize flash dont!
Everything on this website moves corresponding to mouse movements. I didnt expect this at first and after tryign to click on the portfolio section I got frustrated and left the site. Granted the site does have a (hidden) standard navigation up top, but i didnt notice it until after I got motion sickness and promptly left the site.
The structure of this website is so complex that I highly doubt the studios target audience would understand how to navigate it. When designing user interfaces we should all stick to the #1 rule: KISS: Keep it SIMPLE stupid!
This probably just a minor issue as I have not seen many all flash sites with scrollbars. When viewing this website from my macbook pro I tried to use my two finger scroll on my trackpad only to find out that i had to manually drag the scroll bar down. Users should be able to effortlessly scroll through and browse a website.
When all flash websites utilze the whole site in one flash file – how am I supposed to link to a specific page or piece of work? This is especially dangerous with websites that feature specific artworks.
http://www.iamalwayshungry.com
Unless you work in the realm of animation or motion design dont make stuff fly around on the screen! If the animation does not add anything to your portfolio get rid of it!!! Nothing is worse than seeing a lovely print portfolio ruined by the portfolio pieces flying all over the screen.
This is another huge, Huge, HUGE no-no that flash sites tend to do: Hijacking my browser! If your site needs to resize my browser, or pop up in a new window i’m going to close the window and leave. One of the difficult challenges of designing for the web is making it look good at different sizes. If your website can not accommodate different browser window sizes then you probably need to re-think your design. As for pop-ups: they are just annoying and get blocked most times anyways (for the informed Firefox users!).
http://bbdk.com
Text on the web needs to be selectable. Users will want to copy and paste and send your valuable information to others. Why prevent them from doing this? Now I know this problem can easily be fixed in flash, but its so often overlooked!
Do you love flash? Think its the best thing since sliced bread? Chime in and tell me why I’m wrong 
Agree with me? Have some other things you’d like to rant about? Leave a comment and rant away!
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Paul Davis says:
I just don’t like Flash full stop. I don’t see a need for it. It’s just a slower way to display information.
These days, 90% of what Flash does, can be done with JavaScript anyway.
The fact that is has so many effects & opportunities is probably the weakest point. It’s more to fiddle with.
So, I’m completely with you.
June 8th, 2009 at 4:58 am
Anthony Hortin says:
Great post Niki. Totally agree with you, Flash does have its uses. It’s great for videos, banners, adverts and the like. Heck, depending on your market and target audience, I think it can be appropriate to have a full flash site. Too may people though, use it simply for the sake of using it. Some sites end up looking like those sites we all hate from 10 yrs ago. You know the ones I mean, with all the flashing text, animated marquees, animated gif’s and the like. Yeah, the Flash site might look snazzier but just because you can do it, doesn’t mean that you should! If you’re building a Flash site, you still need to take into consideration site usability. As you pointed out, theres nothing worse than landing on a site and not knowing how to navigate it. It’s a sure way to lose visitors.
Enough of my ranting
Keep up the great work.
June 8th, 2009 at 5:10 am
Bob Cooper says:
Hmmm I disagree, if used correctly and these points are implimented in flash professionally then flash opens up so many more options and exciting ways to portray information rather than just boring text and images. It all depends on the nature of the site and what is being portrayed.
I agree with most of the points above, though, I don’t see the problem with the naviagtion on http://www.jlern.com , it seems pretty obvious to me or the resize option on http://www.32round.com , I was not forced to go fullscreen, but it was nice to have the option to.
Interesting article though!
June 8th, 2009 at 5:12 am
Niki says:
Another point I left out:
Alot of schools are teaching students the basics of flash and one of the projects they end up doing is a flash based portfolio. I think this is a huge HUGE mistake! Why showcase your (hopefully outstanding) print work in a medium that you barely know anything about? It makes student portfolios look very amateur and gimicky.
June 8th, 2009 at 5:14 am
Brad C says:
Niki – Not to get too off topic, but your comment about schools teaching flash is interesting. Talking to a couple folks working at a local college I learned that often the curriculum is set 2 years in advance. In this field that’s crazy.
Last fall they were looking into teaching HTML/CSS as part of their design curriculum, but these changes wouldn’t take effect until 2010 coarse catalog. It’s no wonder design students are coming out with flash portfolios, that’s what they are taught.
June 8th, 2009 at 5:31 am
awesomerobot says:
First of all, anyone saying that 90% of what can be done in Flash can be done using Javascript knows little about either. People love saying that.
Yes, maybe 90% of what most people use Flash for can be done in Javascript – but there’s a lot more that can be done in Flash than most people realize (the same goes with Javascript most of the time too). They are just two different tools. That type of dismissal of a tool is akin to the absolute aversion of tables some web designers have; just because most people use the tool wrong it doesn’t mean that there’s not a right way to use it.
Second, I can see why design schools teach Flash – you can get by using Flash in a very visual way and can avoid almost touching any code whatsoever. Stereotypically print designers are supposed to hate coding, math, science, and all of that (which is pretty far from the truth in many cases). So, it’s not the right way to do things, but I imagine that’s why it’s done – but I think that’s changing slowly.
That aside, I rarely see Flash used appropriately. As you pointed out – there’s a time and a place for Flash. It’s meant to be used to do what HTML/CSS and Javascript can’t do; not as an alternate means to achieve the same goal.
On a quick tangent, Flash is really starting to show its age as far as streaming any sort of HD video goes – it’s just not very efficient. It’s a huge resource hog, and in my opinion I think a corporation as resourceful as Adobe can certainly work on fixing that.
June 8th, 2009 at 5:52 am
Bushwa says:
Your beef is not with Flash, it is with the shotty design done by someone using Flash.
#1,2,3,5&6 are all design decisions. And 4 can be corrected with swfAddress and 7 by using dynamic text.
Flash used correctly can be incredible, just as css/javascript/etc used correctly can be incredible.
So Flash has not failed you, just some of your fellow designers.
June 8th, 2009 at 7:50 am
Joseph S. says:
If your navigation comes with a motion-sickness bag then you might have a usability issue.
June 8th, 2009 at 7:50 am
Robin Cannon says:
Very much in agreement, this was a great post. My biggest bugbear is the regular use of Flash to achieve functionality when there are simpler, quicker and more usable options. There’s nothing wrong with Flash when it’s used to add a little bit extra to an already good site. With very few exceptions, however, sites that use Flash as their foundation tend to be bloated and inaccessible.
June 8th, 2009 at 7:57 am
Justin says:
You should consider a website’s target audience before you bash the site. If the target audience is the not-so-savvy internet user who is trying to pay their bills online, then it should be clear and easy to use. If the audience is of the art industry then the website should be more innovative / creative and less focused on usability. The goal of an artist’s website is not to have as many users as possible sift through the website in search of information, but to have each user’s brain challenged as they explore something new to them. According to your rant, all websites should look like a conservative bank website with navigation across the top and text sitting below. Thank god there are still creative people out there pushing the boundaries of design.
June 8th, 2009 at 8:24 am
Niki says:
@justin
I wasn’t bashing the design of your site – i was just pointing out that making things fly around and follow your mouse does not add anything to your portfolio. In fact I never actually looked at the content of your site because your navigation was so frustrating.
If I were a potential client or employer how would this look?
I’m not saying things should be boring, im just saying that ‘bling’ should be balanced with functionality and usability.
June 8th, 2009 at 8:27 am
liz says:
having a flash site means, i have about a 5% chance of actually looking at it. Usually the second I see a “loading” screen i let out a “are you kidding me!?” and click the back button on my browser.
Of all these offenses, the one that is most maddening is resizing my browser window. UGHHH!!!
June 8th, 2009 at 8:28 am
Michel says:
Niki,
I agree one million percent. Flash is (at least for me) the ugly duck of the internets. First it was the unnecessary intros, then the infamous Skip Intro, then waiting a lot for content to load from page to page, then weird navigations. Flash always comes back with something worse.
I’ve read some of the comments, and I would add that I used to teach web design in a college down in Brazil, and every newcomer loved the fact that they didn’t have to learn code to have their own website in Flash. That was very hard to change after it got into their heads.
Also, my biggest Flash pet peeve is when a client says to me: ” I need a website, and I want it to be in Flash”. It always sounds bad when you have to explain to someone that you don’t recommend a technology like flash and your reasons.
Just to add to the rant – I don’t like all Flash websites, and I think websites should focus on goals and objectives of client and customers.
One more thing: (WWDC mode on) Apple said once that Flash is such a battery and resources hog that if they could they wouldn’t even have it on their computers let alone the iPhone.
June 8th, 2009 at 8:57 am
Damian Herrington says:
I love flash sites when done properly it really does add another dimension to viewing a website, makes a refreshing change and very inspirational. However I too hate when I see a loading screen and I can’t use the website because I can’t figure out how the navigation works or it doesn’t fully work because of my browser, very frustrating!!!
June 8th, 2009 at 9:14 am
Pieter de Jong says:
I prefer HTML and stuff above flash!
June 8th, 2009 at 9:31 am
Yana says:
I do agree with the points you brought up of what should not be done (unselectable text, unlinkable sites, etc), however I think that these are usability issues in any kind of website, not just Flash. While Flash does make it easier to mess things up by making the bling easier to implement, I don’t think Flash is at fault. It;s funny that you mentioned schools, because I think that the curriculum is actually to blame a lot of the time. You’re right – they teach students the basics without giving them any sort of design history/theory base to stand on, then the students push every button they see in Flash cause all of it looks cool and produce horrendous sites.
At the same time, I’ve always been in awe of the jlern and bbdk sites because they’re truly doing something different. Navigatable or not, I have to commend them on it, and trust that they know what they’re doing
June 8th, 2009 at 9:36 am
Yana says:
By the way, banner pic made me laugh. Clever
June 8th, 2009 at 9:36 am
Sayz says:
I do agree with Justin, his site is not that difficult to navigate, maybe we should minimize the time required to learn how to navigate on a new environments. The first 20 seconds really make me want to puke navigating Justin site, =), but get used to it later.
And I really don’t like the text that can’t be selected, but flash site can give some effect that can’t achieved easily using other tools.
June 8th, 2009 at 11:42 am
Holly says:
Niki, I agree completely. Using flash, especially for a portfolio site, just distracts from the content. It’s the equivalent of putting a Photoshop filter on everything, just because it “looks cool.” All you end up seeing is the cheesy filter.
June 8th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Emily Gonsalves says:
I agree with you, Niki. But like others have said, what we’re really talking about is usability. Flash is just a tool, but many people doesn’t use it in a way that’s usable. It makes the tool look bad, but it’s the people who are using the tools incorrectly that are at fault.
One of the things that really bothers me about Flash sites is when the bulk of the site is HTML + CSS, and yet the navigation is Flash. That can easily eliminate visitors who don’t have Flash because now they likely have no way to get beyond the index. Who doesn’t have Flash? Mobile users, for one.
I think it’s also worth noting that SEO is compromised with Flash, as are accessibility and the option to translate. Even when the text is selectable, I don’t think it can be run through an automatic translation tool, can it?
One of the sites I manage for a client needs to be able to download fast for dial-up users, and text is extremely important as it can be translated if needed. Translation tools aren’t perfect, but I think it’s good to leave that option available to the user just in case.
I think amazing things can be done with Flash, and there are times when it would seem strange to not use Flash; but in many cases there are tools that work better for usability.
June 8th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Evan Byrne says:
If I was a website owner, I would like my site to be as accessible to search engines as possible. all-flash content makes that a lot harder so it’s a no-brainer for me not to use large amounts of flash.
June 8th, 2009 at 5:36 pm
kevinMario says:
I think design websites / designer portfolio websites should be excluded from these so-called standards.. in a way, yes, we want to be seen in search engines etc but how many million portfolio websites are there? And its not like you have dynamic content that changes everyday anyway, its only a showcase tool – thats why these kind of websites need to be unique and stand out above the rest.
I had a great time navigating Jlern.com – I was expecting the worst after reading your comments but its actually a treat to browse it. Maybe its just me?
But yea, I suggest that these rant excludes designer portfolio websites – they are another kind of website altogether and should not be grouped with the rest of ‘normal’ websites.
June 8th, 2009 at 6:23 pm
bebopdesigner says:
I think this is brilliant summary on how to explain why we should put a lead on flash… Sometimes it’s hard to explain when it comes to clients. Cheers!
June 8th, 2009 at 6:40 pm
Ilaria Mauric says:
I don’t like flash most of the times, that’s a fact. But I agree with some people who said that flash is just another tool and (sometimes) it’s worth and make sense using it.
There are a lot of example in fashion websites. These type of websites very often use flash and I think this is a good choice. What we should care about is the goal first.
For instance, take the Dolce-Gabbana website:
http://www.dolcegabbana.it/
they made a magazine which is actually a fashion blog
http://www.swide.com/luxury-magazine/
But they use flash to show they taste and their style in most of their corporate sites:
http://www.dolcegabbana.it/dg/
http://www.dolcegabbana.it/dg/profumi/
Another very important example is Nike (but see also Adidas and many many others):
http://www.nikesportswearstories.com/
how can we think that these sites are wrong or fail only because of flash?
June 9th, 2009 at 6:28 am
Raizen says:
I hate Flash, it’s slowing computers down, and it’s… ugly. Javascript is the king, CSS is the queen.
June 9th, 2009 at 6:29 am
Justin says:
kevinMario – Thank you for the refreshing thoughts. Exactly the point I was trying to make. A designer’s showcase is a chance to be unique and innovative. If all the designers out there made their portfolio in HTML with navigation in the same place we’d be living in pretty boring world.
Just a friendly rebut to the criticism of my website – it has won several awards, been featured in a few books/magazines and has driven a ton of new clients to me. so I guess its not THAT bad.
June 9th, 2009 at 6:53 am
thepicklebot says:
There is a place for flash, but it is not the place it is in currently
June 9th, 2009 at 10:31 am
Niki says:
Its funny that people think that you can’t be creative with html/css and web standards. If you cant be creative without resorting to unnecessary web ‘bling’ then maybe you are on the wrong vein of design.
Again i’m not saying that all flash websites are bad, but I don’t think designers websites should be excluded from the list just because we are ‘creative’.
June 9th, 2009 at 11:09 am
Aaron Irizarry says:
@niki,
I feel the same frustration… I hold to the view that flash should be used in video, and other “widget” type purposes in sites.
I am sure there are some cases where something in a header would need to be flash… and it is best to approach each project with an open mind, but really it isn’t the end all be all of good design.
nice article… way to get the discussion going
~ Aaron I
June 9th, 2009 at 11:20 am
awesomerobot says:
Flash is like an intelligent woman.
Many people are intimidated by her and don’t even approach; many others just try to use her and fail miserably. A select few get together and produce some smart kids.
June 9th, 2009 at 11:31 am
Mimi Flynn says:
xhtml / css /jQuery (or something comparable) will hopefully take the replace Flash in slideshow navigation areas.
Example:
http://stateoftomorrow.com uses flash
http://whitehouse.gov uses jQuery
June 9th, 2009 at 11:41 am
LukeG says:
Niki,
I think it’s the motion that a lot of people crave in Flash. A designer is able to create an entire dimension of emotion that a static site cannot.
Of course JavaScript can carry a huge animation load, but it’s the total control and the ability to utilize video that make Flash a unique tool.
To the point of portfolio sites: a lot of times the site is the content, especially if the designer is trying to get a job as a Flash designer.
I think it might be more correct to classify HTML/CSS as a website design tool and Flash as a showcase or presentation tool.
And to reiterate Bushwa, the onus lies on the designer to create a beautiful and usable site.
June 9th, 2009 at 11:56 am
Justin says:
@ Niki – I appreciate you getting this discussion started but its hard to take your criticisms seriously when I check out your portfolio. Your design skills are far from immaculate, so I don’t know what gives you the right to say I might be in wrong vein of design.
But thanks for all the traffic you’re generating to my site this week!
June 9th, 2009 at 11:59 am
Niki says:
@justin I was saying that if you feel like you have to rely on flash to be creative, you might be in the wrong vein of design. I wasn’t insulting your design or flash skills, I’m just pointing out problems with the implementation.
Also, if you have a note on your site that says *not responsible for motion sickness* you’d think you would realize the problem with the motion in the navigation of your site. Its just plain hard to navigate and read. I’m of the opinion that we should never sacrifice usability for ‘coolness’.
And thanks for pointing out my immaculate portfolio – I’m quite proud of the work I have produced and stand behind it.
June 9th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Nick says:
This article should probably be called Designer/Developer #FAIL, You can do great things with flash and you can do horrible things with flash. Its just a tool.
June 9th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Christopher Magruder | uneekGrafix says:
I agree and disagree at the same time.
1. Flash is a very powerful engine to drive you site. If used properly you can avoid about 80% of these mistakes. Granted these aren’t tough in your basic flash corse but learning is all part of the process. There are things like swffitswffit that allow a user to add a scroll bar onto the page after the browser has been resizes past a certain point. Or things like deep linking that will allow each page of the site to have its own unique URL just like an html site so it can be booked marked. If you need an example check out my site. Its uses these above mentioned techniques.
2. The other side of the coin is the usability and or functionality. The need to have the most up to date flash player. This is something that I struggles with on many sites. I don’t want to have to force the user to update, but honestly they will have to some day and from that day on they will never think twice about it. Annoying, at little, I agree. But thats part of the game.
six in one hand, half a dozen in the other. Take it how you will both html/css and flash sites have their advantages and disadvantages. Its up to you, the designer, to figure out what fits the need the best.
Christopher Magruder | uneekGrafix
http://www.uneekgrafix.com
June 9th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
Colin says:
As A Flash designer, I disagree. It is all about how it is implemented. Design and delivery are two different things, and I can point out plenty of awful non-Flash sites.
Anyway, this is a useless debate because Flash is not going away.
June 9th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
Seth Cardoza says:
The problem with Flash is that most Flash developers do it wrong. Since inherent browser functionality has to be redone within the flash piece, and these developers don’t want to spend the time to do so.
Other usability issues are bookmarking, missing back/forward functionality, and splash pages.
June 9th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Pete Larson says:
There are just as many mistakes that can happen in html sites, they just happen to be different mistakes. All these problems can and should be avoided when developing a full-flash site.
June 9th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Lucas says:
I found this link via Twitter so I thought I would comment.
While you make good and logical points – almost all of the example sites that you use are poor examples. You are taking the poor use of flash completely out of context when used in said sites.
Justin’s site – http://www.jlern.com/ for example, is a great site and hits the target audience exactly as it should. In no way was this meant to be a cookie cutter web 2.0 site that you seem to be so fond of (aka your portfolio) … and you also say that his “standard” navigation is hidden and you couldn’t find it – which leads me to suspect that you aren’t too web savvy yourself.
Mario said it very well …
“I think design websites / designer portfolio websites should be excluded from these so-called standards.. in a way, yes, we want to be seen in search engines etc but how many million portfolio websites are there? And its not like you have dynamic content that changes everyday anyway, its only a showcase tool – thats why these kind of websites need to be unique and stand out above the rest.”
I would suggest to you Niki that you take a little more time to research the sites that you are about to bash before you post something like this – “Keep it SIMPLE stupid!” and try and be a bit more professional about it. If you took the time to actually examine the sites you so easily point out – a lot of their client base are huge brand name corporations and they probably see more work in a month than you do in a year. So they must be doing something right.
Thanks for the read and the 10 min break from work.
June 9th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
Chris says:
If a website (a) resizes my browser or (b) starts making noises, I close out of it immediately. They blew their first impression in a heartbeat. that said, I’d add:
8. Inability to directly link to material. No one will bother giving instructions like “go to crappyflashsite.com, wait for the menu to come up, select ‘portfolio’; the screen does a spinny thing, and when it stops choose ‘web design,’ then click the right-arrow fourteen times until you see…”
9. ADA Standards for accessible design compliance. An all-Flash website guarantees that a percentage of the potential audience for your site cannot view it. Period. Why would you shoot yourself in the foot like that as a designer? Nevermind the people who just simply don’t have Flash installed, which is itself substantial.
Plus, it’s just sort of lazy, from a design perspective. Like, “I’ll make my site SO COOL that no one will notice how much it sucks!”
June 9th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
zachary hall says:
Completely disagree with you. That kind of thinking is for scientists, not creatives. We should create interesting new ways to display and use information… otherwise the web would all look like google or wikis. Top-nav, sidebar, lame-ass header pic, footer links…. blaaah. get real. Flash sites rule the web, everything else just tries to keep up – it’s been that way for years. I know js is ramping up lately, but if i see another .hide or .show i’m gonna vomit.
June 9th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
Alex says:
“The first 20 seconds really make me want to puke navigating Justin site, =), but get used to it later.”
…But that’s only after the 40 seconds that the site makes you wait while it loads. Which to me is the worst problem with using Flash.
And seriously Justin, the site and your portfolio aren’t THAT bad, at least it looks good, but the personal attacks on this thread are unnecessary and kind of make you look small.
June 9th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Fractionofawhole says:
Every problem you listed is a developer or designer issue, not a Flash issue. All of these can be corrected and depending on the audience only some of them actually need to be corrected (#1, 2, 5, & 6 are subjective). This article should be targeted at designers/developers for good usability advice, not at picking a bone with Flash (which is actually innocent in this case).
@Paul Davis
“These days, 90% of what Flash does, can be done with JavaScript anyway.”
Either you don’t work with either of these technologies enough to understand them or you’re just vastly over exaggerating.
June 9th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
Nate Walton says:
I agree with the other comments saying that many of these issues have to do with implementation and not with inherent good or bad in the tool. And as Pete Larson says, there are plenty of badly-implemented HTML sites to point at as well. I’m a strong proponent of standards-based, searchable, usable web sites. But I’m also not against using a bit of Flash now and then, if I understand its advantages and disadvantages.
The fact is, there are cases where I think Flash is very appropriate. I won’t try to go into those, because whether you like Flash or not it’s most important to KNOW about the issues above and to avoid blindly making those mistakes. Let’s not become evangelizers for or against Flash; let’s look closely at the pros and cons, and try to be more educated about when and how we use it or choose not to use it.
June 9th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
Nick says:
@Chris
8. Inability to directly link to material. No one will bother giving instructions like “go to crappyflashsite.com, wait for the menu to come up, select ‘portfolio’; the screen does a spinny thing, and when it stops choose ‘web design,’ then click the right-arrow fourteen times until you see…”
There are multiple ways of deep linking into a flash website, SWFAddress is just one of them. A smart website will use it to its fullest potential. Every flash website i have worked on has used deep linking to some degree. Again, its not a problem with the tool but with whoever is using it.
June 9th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
wigz says:
Blog #FAIL
This is lame. Your issues are not with Flash, but with bad design.
You could find 7 CSS sites that sucked for similar reasons.
Flash is awesome, XHTML/CSS/JavaScript is awesome. Why choose? Use them both.
June 9th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Robert says:
Wow, if this article isn’t an example of linkbaiting, I don’t know what is.
@Nick you are on the right track. Flash is just a tool. It is the site builder who is to blame for its usability. This article is kinda like blaming steel and concrete for the failure of Galloping Gertie.
I also noticed that nobody mentioned Flex anywhere in the comment or in the post.
@Niki it isn’t that people can’t be creative in DHTML and CSS, it is just that it is inefficient as hell. Testing CSS based layouts and JavaScript in 3+ different browsers is a massive time sink and a huge pain in the head.
I am a big believer in open standards and don’t really like that Flex is a proprietary platform, but it is build once run anywhere.
As much as the JavaScript toolkits claim to be cross browser, they are never going to be 100% cross browser. There will always be issues.
As for the CSS, YUI Grids can solve a lot of layout problems, but it can’t solve all of them.
So what you’ve really got to ask yourself is which is more important: delivering quickly for the client or sticking to your guns and never abandoning your open web sensibilities?
I would much rather spend my time adding functionality to a site, fixing bugs, refactoring or refining the design than futzing around with JavaScript or CSS.
June 9th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Mike Grant says:
Yawn, yet another design-fascist pissing about how they want to restrict expression on the web because they don’t like a particular medium.
The internet is where the forefront of digital creativity is at, and to make such a dismissal of much of the innovation, experimentation and pure artistry that many flash designers bring to the web is just plain old miserable curmudgeonry.
Nobody suggests all sites should be done in Flash, but for f*ck sake, the day there is no room for some of the works of art you see on thefwa.com is the day that mediocrity (like the bland and safe web2.0 conformity of this blog’s design and all of Niki’s uninspired and identikit portfolio) has truly triumphed.
Perhaps we should burn all art galleries to the ground, what with their fancy modern ideas, expressionism, decadent ideas and degenerate thinking. This blog article is just another zealot mob cry to burn all books, lynch the witch.
Web standards Nazis won’t rest until all sites conform to their bland css brown shirts, til every drop of creativity and freedom of expression has been bludgeoned to conformity, all must surrender to and be duly squeezed into 3 columns, centred and paperclipped wordpress themes.
June 9th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
SparkyFlash says:
Niki, thank you for pointing out few very important issues with Flash websites. However when build with Actionscript and SWF Address you can easily navigate the pages and save bookmarks. Someone pointed out compromising SEO but it can be achieved as well with careful planning and designing and HTML
I consider Flash websites being THE best option for showcasing designer’s work. When designed right it will only complement the work and show it’s beauty.
June 9th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
ne says:
Justin-
You say your work is soo good that you won awards, but I went to your site, and didn’t see ANYTHING!!!
All I saw made me dizzy and noxious and I had to close the tab cuz I was getting sea sick!
I just didn’t wanna bother with your site at all.
So, I have to say that the bragging really is not in place.
June 9th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Bret says:
Great article- I can see both sides of the argument. One thing I didn’t see mentioned is the fact that not a single mobile browser renders flash… this is a biggie for me as more and more users use mobile safari and other handheld platforms… As long as apple has an app store and other companies scramble to launch their own flash will be a direct competitor – so unfortunately I don’t think anyone will be providing flash support in the near future…
- sent from my iPhone
June 9th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
David Riveroll says:
Hi Niki
I’m an artist and a webdesigner. I used to do almost only Flash websites, because I love the freedom and flexibility it has as an “art” platform, and my clients considered it fancy I guess. I’m just starting to code XHTML / CSS sites and yea, accesibility is much better. I will develop Flash sites still, but as you say, they have their own place (for digital art pieces!!).
I think you forgot another issue (although Google is trying to fix it and there are ways around it)… SEO. Flash sucks at SEO. The way around it is to check if the visitor is a robot and display a SEO optimized HTML version of the site even if it’s ugly (real users with Flash plugin will never see it)
I would still appreciate a lot your feedback on the last website I did for a client –
http://www.arquitecturasustentable.com.mx
It’s in Spanish… sorry folks!
June 9th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
Deagle says:
Ha ha ha ha this made me laugh. I fully agree with wigz. This article is really weak. There is no one solution for every aspect of the web. Honestly, your ignorance towards the uses of flash vs XHTML/CSS/JavaScript make you sound like a closed minded amateur. Flash #Fail? Please. Don’t blame your creative and technical weakness on a development tool.
June 9th, 2009 at 6:57 pm
not a flasher says:
Solution to point 4: Flashsites use deep-linking with swfadress. Then the user can link to specific content, and send the url to a friend or post.
June 10th, 2009 at 2:54 am
Schoschie says:
Interesting discussion. Many designer egos insulted
I think the article is making many valid points. These ARE in fact the issues that are most irritating with Flash content. It doesn’t matter if they are design faults (yes, they are); there is just too much Flash content with these kinds of issues, and this is the way Flash content is perceived by most users. I’m not talking web developers and designers here, I’m talking the »normal« web users at large.
While I agree in principle with those who say that Flash is just a tool and is not to blame for bad designs made with it, you will have to realize that Flash does prompt users (particularly inexperienced ones) to create inaccessible websites with lots of unneccessary, superficial bling and bad UIs. This is not so much the case with HTML. Badly-made HTML sites will probably look butt-ugly, but at least you can access the content. This is a major point.
There is no need to argue in general pro-Flash and contra-HTML and vice-versa. The bottom line is: if your site’s content is text-heavy, Flash is probably a bad choice. If it’s very rich in media, Flash is probably a good choice. It doesn’t make sense to compare text-heavy sites such as blogs and news sites with media-rich sites such as product commercials and designer’s/photographer’s portfolios.
The other issue that hasn’t been touched here is that Flash is a proprietary, commercial technology which is owned and under control by a single company. So whenever you do something in Flash, you are indirectly putting money into Adobe’s hands. I don’t like that idea at all. I’m aware that there are ways to create Flash content without having to (buy and) use Adobe Flash (such as libraries that can create swfs from code), but in the majority of cases, Flash means Adobe Flash.
One more issue is that we’re all relying on a browser plug-in that is also made by that same company (alternative Flash players are a small minority still), so we’re stuck with what Adobe gives us. For Mac users in particular, Adobe has shown that it apparently does not care much about us, in that they haven’t been able to fix the abysmal performance of the Flash player on MacOS systems in years. (If you’re on Windows and don’t know what it’s like: watching YouTube videos etc. basically freezes up your machine unless you’re using a rather recent model. That’s how bad it is. It’s bad.)
All criticism aside, Flash in an of itself is a very useful and exciting technology, as it has been since its inception. I’m particularly fond of its efficiency in terms of file sizes. It’s amazing how much can be done in an .swf of just a few tens of kilobytes.
As one commenter said, Flash is not going away. Web developers and designers probably just need a bit more education on the pros and cons of using Flash vs. HTML.
June 10th, 2009 at 4:32 am
RickDT says:
Niki, I think you might have missed the point. You are clearly not the target audience for these sites and if you were a potential client (which you’ve repeatedly put yourself in the shoes thereof), you wouldn’t and shouldn’t hire these designers.
On the flip side, if I were a client who really loves to see stuff move then I probably wouldn’t hire Niki Brown
This meme comes up a lot and I never understand why it’s focused on Flash itself. Flash is a technology and it’s very capable. The argument you’re making is against a design aesthetic and philosophy. All of those sites above will be quite doable in HTML5, but I don’t think anyone is complaining that WebKit has CSS Transforms.
I’m not arguing FOR Flash. I think stuff like non-selectable text, non-integrated scroll bars, sites that don’t deep-link are horrific. And, although you can technically solve those things in Flash, it’s just stupid that you event have to and it still takes considerable time to do so.
There are designers who don’t prioritize usability. They attract, and work with, clients who don’t prioritize usability. So what? Is there a point to, and is it even possible to, preach usability to those designers? If one of these designers wrote a blog on Kontain.com about how boring and lame Clearleft’s web sites are would it sway you to add motion “just for the fun of it” to your designs?
But please, let me make this point – this doesn’t have anything to do with Flash!!! The post should be retitled “Usability #Fail of Portfolio Sites” – but that wouldn’t be as good of flame bait would it?
June 10th, 2009 at 7:47 am
Garth Braithwaite says:
I think you are focusing on the wrong problem. It is the developers/designers more than the platform. Flash gives you more freedom than traditional html sites, but that doesn’t mean it can be abused. Many of the problems you mentioned could be accomplished with html and javascript.
I agree with RickDT, this seemed a little bit like Flame bait.
June 10th, 2009 at 10:05 am
Barb says:
Since i think it is near impossible to make you understand the flash platform in one blog comment, i say please, please do not talk about things that you do not know.
i’ve read such horrible things. Just have in mind that a technology is what you made of it.
And that Flash is only the top of the iceberg of a whole world
hey, with no offense obviously
June 11th, 2009 at 8:02 am
Fractionofawhole says:
@Schoschie
I don’t ever remember Flash prompting me to create an inaccessible website. I’m actually working in the Flash IDE right now and it has still failed to prompt me. Maybe I should contact Adobe as there seems to be something wrong with my version of their software. Haha.
June 11th, 2009 at 9:39 am
mismatchingpanda says:
Bushwa, well said.
I personally think flash is a tool, and used correctly can produce very very impressive results, but its up to the designer to use it, implement it, and integrate it into the site.
June 11th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
mismatchingpanda says:
Also, unfortunately most clients I have had to deal with have very little idea about good design, user interaction, accessibility, and instead have that little kid syndrome where they want that shiny new toy that makes all the cool sounds and blinks and whirls when they press a button. It unfortunate, but sadly true.
June 11th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
rory says:
Great post Niki, I’m fairly new to the web design game and mainly only use flash in small doses on my sites. You can make mind blowing sites in flash but also feel some designers do it for the sake of doing it. I specialise in web design and SEO, so to do a complete site in flash would be hard to make a good SEO campaign for my clients, as isn’t as SEO friendly as HTML.
June 12th, 2009 at 1:43 am
Jen says:
I don’t understand why the debate even exists. For *most* business purposes, a 100% Flash site is overkill. The logistical issues are covered in the other comments, and they need to be considered when planning a website. That said, Flash elements can be included in an otherwise static page and add a lot of life. That balances the issues with usability, accessability, SEO and artistic expression.
Unless I’m looking up a band or movie site, when I see the “loading” page, I bolt. When I’m looking for information, I want it now, I don’t want wait and then have to think about how to navigate to it.
June 13th, 2009 at 9:12 am
John Dowdell says:
Hi Niki, this is fascinating. I saw your article earlier this week, and thought it a useful reminder of a few things NOT to do with visual design, whether in SWF or in HTML.
But it looks like many of the subsequent comments took you at your title, and we got lots of judgments from people with names like “thepicklebot”. A failure in text design…?
jd/adobe
June 13th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
Andrew says:
Design students are being taught Flash because it is a visual way that they can bring still graphics graphics to life with little effort. But flash’s ability is its down fall. Many designers think they can rule the design world or usher in a new age of web with flash and tell there clients that anything is possible, until the Scroll bar won’t scroll unless you click and drag it… stick to HTML- IE6 is bad enough do we really need more compatibility issues people?
oh, and i really like flash!
June 15th, 2009 at 5:39 am
Ross Inman says:
1 Hidden or non standard Navigation – If you have trouble navigating this site, u are probably the type of person who spends 4 hours in a chinese finger trap. FIVE mouse click and I had navigated his ENTIRE site. Its a great portfolio. On another note, WHERE do you get off referencing an experimental navigation web portal for your point on poor navigation?!! ITS EXPERIMENTAL! Thats like taking Modern art back to the renaissance expecting it to be understood. Seriously, LRN2SUREF or get off the web.
2 Uneeded Complexity – LOL again. COMPLEX?! This site is laid out in ONE FREAKING LINE. I mean it isn’t 3D.. or even 2D.. ITS ONE DIMENSION! It gets a little long but who cares, everything I clicked was cool and displayed serious talent. calling a 1d site layout complex… geez
3 Scrolling – Talk about LAZY! *cry* I wanna use my scroll wheel *sob*
The scroll wheel support was not even added by ADOBE until Flash 9. I also believe it requires the site to be in AS3. You can not expect designers to have features on their site when the feature isn’t supported by the application.
4 Linking – DEEP LINKING – Its a higher level code implementation for flash but EVERY major web portal using flash like: every automotive company in the world, HP, Nike, Adobe, most movie studios, most new movies, etc.. USE DEEP LINKING. Its allows direct access to Flash sections and even lets spiders search for reference directly. Do you research before you say it isn’t possible.
5 Unnecessary Animation – Dont Blame FLASH for poor design and over done tweens. Here, I am sure you can easily point the finger at a creative director or an Art director. Besides, Most Flash now that has alot of animation also includes buttons that allow you to SKIP it too.. I.e. Skip Intro.. Or just click a menu option. For every poor animated Flash site I can show you 10 HTML sites that would make a persian living room look contemporary.l
6 Browser Resizing, or Full Screen Popups – Huge no no? Sure most people will not allow the site/application in question to take control of thier whole screen but those people are not who the site was designed for. My portfolio requires you to go full screen to access it. Why? Because I have HUGE flash sites being loaded and if you are not as wide and tall as you monitor can get, then things get cropped off and it ruins the project layout. Besides, I want full control of the stage area for the presentation. Do you think an artist would allow his art to just be laid out on trash in a junkyard? No, he picks the walls, the colors, the lighting.. etc etc. If you dont want to go full screen to see my work, Fine, You probably didn’t want to see it anyways. Another example of a great full screen site is for the movie “Wanted”. Its great design and Menu bar at full screen keeps the user part of the site and not just another window the browser.
7 Non-Selectable Text – Simple as adding a checkbox to the text field in question. What are you doing trying to copy that much text anyways? Stealing it for some other FAIL blog post without referencing the original writer? If you cannot select it and copy it, maybe its copyrighted. This failure only happens if it is not put on say.. a MAILING address or contact info.
As for you idiots out there who think Flash is a failure and 95% of it can be done with AJAX or JAVA. I say PROVE it! Go to theFWA award sites.. pick ANY site that was say.. FWA of the month and DARE to try and make it without Flash.
You want WHY flash is not a failure?! EVERYDAY you can view a new example at thefwa.com
Seriously Blog poster, Do your homework if you dare try and argue about flash. Otherwise take your lame 1990s topic of usability and F-off!
June 16th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
Bryan says:
I usually try and steer my clients clear of Flash, unless their marketing or customers would benefit from it.
That being said, I think it’s silly that designers are so quick to completely dismiss an incredibly versatile tool that can do things that nothing else can. Designers love to hate Flash animation, but will throw any and all unnecessary jquery fades/animation on a site without thought impact.
We don’t design sites for other designers. If the client has sound reason to believe that an all-flash site with a fancy, non-standard navigation system will help them make money, then who are we to argue as people who spend 8+ hours in front of a screen all day. All that means is that we’re immune to the kind of stylistic shock they may be trying to adhere to their brand. WE are not the target. It’s the same argument for those designers who refuse to make some simple changes to fix their css for IE6 without consulting their clients on their userbase.
If I knew nothing at all of how to build a website myself, current trendy trends, the crapfest of fading gradients and shine effects, etc, and I were looking for someone to build me a great site, I would look at at least one of those mentioned and come away with absolute trust in that company. I very much doubt many non-developers would look at it and say “omg, they could have used javascript for that!”.
Why don’t we just ask them? Are they successful webdesigners? More successful than us who criticize them? Maybe some basic marketing lessons are in need of refreshing. What makes the bucks is what needs to be built, not simply chasing our peers around with a notepad.
June 16th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
deskofken says:
I used to use Flash extensively, but I rarely use it anymore, and you will not find any of it in my portfoloio. It’s not that it’s not usable or sleek it’s just no longer my direction.
Niki It does sound like usability issues in your statements to me, but at the same time I get what you were trying to get across to your readers.
June 16th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
twe4ked says:
@Ross
1. LRN2SUREF? Really? Learn about the internet, leet speak went out about 5-10 years ago. Now its just used by noobs or as a joke.
2. 1 dimension… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimension Standard website layouts are easiest to navigate and when designing a portfolio the easiest navigation is generally the best.
3. Why make it harder? If you can impliment it with AS3 – do it!
4. Most sites dont allow this, its a valid point that its a usablility issue.
5. Things flying around, whether it’s done well or looks crap, simply makes whatever its happening take more time.
6. A good webdesigner caters for all common browser resolutions. I feel sorry for you.
7. I have run accross this many a time. Its not often that people “add the checkbox”.
F-off? You come to his online “house” and insult like that. Its people like you that wreak the internet.
June 16th, 2009 at 7:11 pm
Ross Inman says:
@ twe4ked:
1 – Pardon my spelling error.. but even so, you didn’t get the joke.
2 – Standard? This dude’s talent isn’t standard. When you are FAR better than standard.. you go outside the box.
3 – AS2 –> AS3 was a difficult hurdle for most Flash developers. It is far more strict in its requirements for code and most users still opt for the fastest and easiest solution to develop. Kind of like the navigation you insist is the best.
4 – Most sites? If you want to reference flash as a failure, pick a mainstream CORPORATE level Flash portal and attack that. Not some artist or small design house startup. Serious.. Go To blitzagency.com. AKQA.com, or tequila.com, or ANY site those guys have ever made.
5-You are compiling about taking more time? Even if its done well? I dont get it, if the animation is done will, its almost visceral and adds to the user experience.
6-You are confusing me with not a good web designer.. but a cookie cutter sweatshop designer. Besides, I am not a designer but a DEVELOPER.. I do whatever the creative director tells me. And if one of my amazing portfolio pieces is 1280px wide and its loading inside my portfolio.. I refuse to allow it to look like crap because you don’t want to expand your browser. I didn’t DESIGN the site, I just built it. It looks great so I am going to show my work the way it was meant to be seen.
I tell him to F-off because he is spewing hate at one of the web’s greatest technologies. He didn’t do any real homework as to what is new, modern and mainstream. He generalizes and pigeonholes Flash to “Video, animated cartoons, motion design, Video Tours” when, If you open your eyes, you will see that FLASH is the future of rich design. Its EVERYWHERE and so seamless you probably don’t even notice it.
I dont understand this latest craze to pick on flash either. That topic died long ago. If Flash is so fail.. WHY does ADOBE spend over 35% of its budget dedicated to Flash and Flex technologies?
When the web evolves into an even Richer possibly 3D user experience, all you wordpress lovers are going to be stuck in your netscape browers wishing you had DSL or cable broadband… oh wait.. flashback to the 1990s again.. cause thats when this hate crap died..
June 16th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
Ross Inman says:
Seeing as this is a Flash haters blog, I will leave because there is no point in saying valid counterpoints here.
As an old friend once told me, “You cannot argue with stupid people because they will bring you down to their level and win with their own experience”.
June 16th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
Control Freak says:
Mostly agree with what you said about the misuse of flash, but of course most of these problems can be overcome.
I actually really liked the all in one design idea with http://www.jlern.com/ its just a bit crazy to navigate with the rotating!
Scrolling can be done like this:
http://www.fl-2.com/2009/index.aspx#/work/
June 16th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
FuR says:
@ross
Congrats on spelling ‘experience’ correctly in your blog post… too bad you couldn’t bother to on your portfolio site.
@jlern i dig this site. didn’t seem to have any trouble navigating it. .shrug.
…
June 16th, 2009 at 11:14 pm
Marie Poulin says:
Niki clearly stated in her intro that she doesn’t believe all Flash sites are bad, and that flash has a time and place. This isn’t a flash-bashing post, its purely usability-bashing, which again she mentions is not a result of the FLASH itself, but merely its implementation.
I agree with pretty much all your “points”, however, I don’t agree that all of those examples fit those points. For example, I find #2 very simple, and pleasant to navigate, I don’t find it complex at all.
Also, there may be many designers who don’t mind being more creative/experimental in their navigation- I think that’s fine if they are tailoring their work to a specific audience, and as long as they are aware that some people might be inclined to close the window quite quickly!
Niki- perhaps you should do a follow-up post of HTML/CSS based sites that make really great use of FLASH as an accent? Or even really well-designed usable FLASH sites?
June 20th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Jesse says:
By far one of the best flash sites I’ve seen are for the upcoming UFC 100 Pay-per-view http://www.100.ufc.com
It impressed me that they fit so much rich video & audio content in there with very short loading times. I suggest you check it out! Very slick, and modern for an otherwise outdated design (outdated: not talking in terms of video, or accent flash)
June 20th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
Justin Mason says:
Flash should be used as an element of a website. It was never intended to be the sole platform of a website. There are tons of SEO issues with it, especially for those who don’t understand deep-linking. However with Flex, Flash has become quite a bit more useful (again as an element). It’s my opinion that any website that is going to support flash elements should have an AJAX alternative at the very least.
If a flash element on a page requires an obvious load time at standard speeds, then odds are you’re using the wrong platform and trying to do too much with it. This is unless it’s supporting a medium that people “expect” to take time to load, such as a game, video, audio file, etc.
June 22nd, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Elisa says:
hahahah, talking about our school back in the days. That was exactly what they did to us!! Look! Now I’m stuck with the stupid flash webfolio site!
November 11th, 2009 at 12:22 pm