Using flash for webdesigns

Ahoy.

I’m just interested in hearing you guys out on your opinion of using flash in webdesign.

I am currently designing a new website for myself, which will work as an online portfolio. I am however in doubt if I should take advantage of flash for some fancy animation stuff at the top header and etc.

What is your opinions on the use of flash for websites in general, and / or as portfolios?

It’s an absolutely terrible idea in all situations and all contexts. It’s never a valid option. The only people who will tell you that there is a time and place for it are people who are wrong. Even a flash portal like newgrounds and kongregate should not be made in Flash. Even if you were making a website about “how to make websites in Flash”, it should still be in vanilla HTML.

If I was the one looking though resumes for people to work at my company, your portfolio would go directly into the shredder for having a flash website.

If I was a doctor and you needed a new lung you’d be at the bottom of my waiting list.

If you were a riding horse I’d decommission you and ship you off to the glue factory.

If you were dying of thirst in the desert and I sat on a bucket of water, I’d say “I’m sorry, but this sand is way too dry” and pour the water on the ground.

I’ve known a few websites made in flash…..none of them exist any more.

Woah Drakim, hyperbole much?

Actually, I think Drakim was being a bit soft. He’s just too nice.

I would ship you off to the glue factory even if you weren’t a horse.

But seriously, no, just no. Don’t do it.

What do you hope to gain? Bedazzle the client with your blatant disregard for how the web functions? The content of your site won’t be properly indexed by Google, it will be impossible to browse it effectively on a mobile device, break if the user doesn’t have flash installed, be a big ugly gray box if the user has “click to activate” for flash.

Heavens forbid if some poor blind person attempts to look at your webpage with a browser such as JAWS, or uses a proxy. Or what if somebody who is browsing your site wishes to use the “back” button in the browser?

You stand nothing to gain except the contempt of an educated employer, but you have a lot to lose. And for what, so you can have fancy animated menus? Small beepy sounds when things are clicked?

Why don’t you plaster a big GIF animation in the center of your webpage while you are at it. That was also cool in the 90s.

In short, don’t do it. It’s not a thing one should do.

Saying it’s never a valid option is crazy talk. There are plenty of great Flash sites out there.

What’s more important is whether it suits what you’re doing. If you’re a Flash developer looking for a Flash job doing Flash things you’d be crazy not to use it – like an HTML developer deciding to do his in Flash. If it’s a portfolio that’s mostly other stuff then it’s probably not the best choice. Personally, I hate sites that have a random Flash banner at the top of a normal HTML page just for the sake of it. Base the format on the content, not vice-versa.

Oh hell no.
If you’re going to use flash for animation for your sites logo or something, that one thing could be acceptable. But the rest will probably just slow everything down.

Stick to languages made for website design.

Depending on what it was, “fancy animation stuff at the top header” would animate every time the user changed/reloaded pages. If you’ve ever seen anything like that, it looks utterly ridiculous after the second or third page load, and then just flat out annoying, even juvenile, after that.

Additionally, since not everything supports flash, you’d have to create a non-flash version as well if you wanted your website to be fully accessible to everyone. That being the case, you might as well just cut out the extra step and make it entirely non-flash.

Half of the people in here are missing the point, he’s not even making a website in flash.

For my personal use, I think I’m going to only create some kind of media player for some of the work I want to showcase… Or just use a free one, as I’m going to need to display both video and sound.

Right now I haven’t made the site functional or anything, just playing around with ideas for the design.

Some of the ideas I’ve sketched so far… Nothing is settled.
http://www.danishdragon.com/design/design1.png
http://www.danishdragon.com/design/design2.png
http://www.danishdragon.com/design/design3.png

Sadly I’m bad at coding web stuff, as I only know basics of HTML :|Only been doing stuff with Dreamweaver.

Non the less, good to see some kind of debate. xD

Originally posted by Aaants:

If you’re a Flash developer looking for a Flash job doing Flash things you’d be crazy not to use it

That’s why so many well-known Flash developers made their websites in Flash. Oh, wait, no they didn’t.

A few of them have been known to use Flash headers, though. Most of the standard arguments against doing sites in Flash don’t apply to headers.

Very few people are strictly Flash devs though. Even so, you’re right, it was a pretty rash statement.

Originally posted by Drakim:

It’s an absolutely terrible idea in all situations and all contexts. It’s never a valid option. The only people who will tell you that there is a time and place for it are people who are wrong. Even a flash portal like newgrounds and kongregate should not be made in Flash. Even if you were making a website about “how to make websites in Flash”, it should still be in vanilla HTML.

If I was the one looking though resumes for people to work at my company, your portfolio would go directly into the shredder for having a flash website.

If I was a doctor and you needed a new lung you’d be at the bottom of my waiting list.

If you were a riding horse I’d decommission you and ship you off to the glue factory.

If you were dying of thirst in the desert and I sat on a bucket of water, I’d say “I’m sorry, but this sand is way too dry” and pour the water on the ground.

Not harsh at all flash websites do not normally succeed in the world today.

There are a few but they all have problems.

Using flash in a website is for when your website is the function itself such as www.omegle.com

Other than that I’m with Drakim

Thanks
-AaronD

Must resist urge to counter-troll (because I’m simply not indecent enough to compare at just plain trolling) people on omegle…

Originally posted by truefire:

Must resist urge to counter-troll (because I’m simply not indecent enough to compare at just plain trolling) people on omegle…

Haha, not trolling just giving an example lo, I in know way suggested for people to visit omegle, just wanted to say for instances like that flash websites are acceptable.

Thanks
-AaronD

But trolling Omegle is fun. :(

It’s the same old story: choose the tools according to the task.

And the task “designing a new website” will probably include a bunch of tools.
If Flash is one of them depends on what you want to do exactly.

Originally posted by Danishdragon:

Sadly I’m bad at coding web stuff, as I only know basics of HTML :|Only been doing stuff with Dreamweaver.

If your toolbox is limited, you may not be able to full fill your task

There are accessibility features in the Flash IDE and the Player.
You can interact with the browser buttons.

It’s not Flash’s fault when people hate it because some morons out there use(d) it to make horrible adds.
It’s not JavaScript’s fault that the concept of PopUps was abolished to the extend that everyone blocks them because possibly the same morons used it in a wrong way.
It’s the morons’ fault.

Flash websites are lame.