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Why I don't (usually) like Flash

Flash web sites are becoming more popular as broadband and faster computers make them more accessible to visitors.  Does that mean it should be used for every site?  Of course not.  Should you use it?  That's up to you.  Do I use it?  Rarely.

Intro
Flash is an animation format designed for the internet that allows for small downloads, but rich media.  A Flash video compared to a Windows Media Player video will be much smaller. 

Flash also has the ability to be interactive.  The designer can create buttons and act on those buttons.  This allows the designer to create an entire site in Flash, relying on only enough HTML to display the Flash applet.

When Flash is bad
The biggest problem I have with Flash is that it leads to non standard sites.  Back when Windows was new, it was up to the software developer to determine what order to put menus in, what icons did what in the toolbar, what color to make buttons, etc.  A standard was developed out of necessity.  The file menu comes first, the help menu last.  A printer in the toolbar will print your document.  A question mark will bring up the help.

Flash pages have not reached this level of standardization. It is up to the visitor to learn on their own how to get around your site.  Some will, most will not.

A Flash site is almost always going to be slower to load than a similar HTML site; a situation made even worse by a novice designer that does not know how to optimize their Flash code.  That means that it will be longer before your visitor gets the information they came to your site to get, and every second lost is visitors that will decide to go somewhere else.

While on that topic, information is why visitors come to your site.  Yes, in the case of photographers they are coming to view your portfolio.  But they are also coming to see your pricing, learn about you, learn about your style, find out why they should hire you rather than the guy down the street.  This information needs to be easily found, and Flash sites often hide it behind fancy animations and transitions. 

And last, search engines are not at a point where they read Flash sites well.  Traffic coming to your site via search engines is basically free marketing which you miss out on if the search engine cannot read your site.  Google does not look at your site and see "Bob's Photography, Cleveland Ohio".  It sees <embed src="flashmovie.swf">.  Yes, you can add meta tags, title tags, and content in the HTML.  But it is not as beneficial as a full site of these things.  And to a search engine a Flash site is a one page site. 

When Flash is good
Yes, there are times when Flash is appropriate.  Some designers can successfully pull off an entire Flash site, but there are few.  My personal preference is to have a normal HTML site with Flash applets playing supporting roles.  Applets like slide shows and Simple Viewer are good examples.  Rather than being the entire site, the Flash is just a part of the site.

It's important that the Flash not be distracting, especially as Flash advertisements are becoming more popular out on the internet.  Gratuitous animations and audio just serve as annoyances to most visitors. 

Do I use Flash?
Yes.  I have used Flash applets on my sites; still am on one.  Call me a hypocrit if you want, but I think occassionally it is a beneficial technology.  Just not when it's overused.