Part III: Elements of Great Website Design

Web Site Ideas with Flash Animation - The Dos and Don'ts of Flash Design

by Pauline Sugarman

Created July 2004; Revised February 2006

Some of the most advanced web sites available on the web today are using animation to give their site added interactivity and excitement. The most popular animation tool for the web is called Flash, Micromedia's Flash Web animation technology.

But Flash animations must be approached with caution. Flash requires a special Flash plug-in and will not work on your visitor's screen unless that visitor has previously downloaded the plug-in. Animations files are also larger and take (much) longer to load. While broadband use, with its increased speeds of the connection, is expanding, 50-70% of internet users are still using modems to connect. Thus, for many people the added time and hassle of downloading the plug-in and waiting for your site to load can be a real turn-off. Enough of a turn-off that they may go away and never come back to your site.

How do you know when Flash animation will be a turn-on for your visitors rather than a turn-off?  Let's review some web site ideas with flash animation that will help to highlight the pros and cons of using Flash.

Branding versus Selling on the Web

Before you decide to do any Flash animation on your site ask yourself:

Selling on the Web

The rule of thumb for any shopping site is that each page must load on your customer's computer within 8 seconds or else you stand to lose that customer, possibly for life. Research to date shows that people are even more impatient on the web than at brick-and-mortar stores. They want it fast, they want it now. Do you like to wait around for a shopping site to load? Go and look at any of the successful shopping/product sites such as Red Envelope (www.redenvelope.com). They know they have to load quickly - they use their 8 second "window" to upload good quality product pictures and solid copy. No Flash animation is used - it's too slow. When reviewing the best web site ideas with Flash animation, Flash is not an option at this time for shopping sites and most likely will not be one for quite some time.

If you are considering creating a shopping site of any kind make sure your web designer is very clear on your goals and that Flash would not be an option at this time for this type of site.

Branding on the Web

Branding includes all sites whose goal is to create excitement and brand recognition. These sites are not interested in selling directly but may include information about the locations where their products can be purchased. For this type of site, Flash animation can be a great asset. Customers have much more patience with this type of site. They are visiting to be entertained and impressed. Flashy introductions, fancy displays of product samples and games are just a few of the ways that animation can enhance your branding site and increase excitement about your company and product.

If you will ONLY be branding your product, with absolutely NO sales of any kind being conducted on your site, then by all means, pull out the stops and go for it!

Successful implementation of Flash animation sites include Mini USA (www.miniusa.com) and Cartier (www.cartier.com).

The Exceptions to the Flash Rule

Having given rather hard and fast rules about using Flash animation, it is important to note, when reviewing web site ideas with Flash animation, that there are times when using a bit of Flash animation on a site can add an extra feel of quality and luxury. If you are selling luxury items or high-end services, for instance, your site could benefit from the seamlessness and beauty that Flash can bring without putting off your clientele. Your clientele is more likely to be using higher quality computers and to have a broadband connection to the web. A good example of Flash usage is: The Inn of the Five Graces (www.fivegraces.com)

In this next article we will begin to explore how to increase your chances of landing at the top of an organic search result, called “search engine optimization”....

Back Arrow Is Your Site User Friendly? Achieving High Rankings In Search Engines (SEO Help Files) Forward Arrow
home  I   team  I   what sets us apart  I   solutions   I   portfolio   I   knowledge center  I   contact us  I   site map  I   privacy policy