subject: Using Flash For Better User Interface Web Design [print this page] If your website has a new visitor, what is that one thing that you expect will impress him or her the most? A majority of the people will give answers like content and design. Yes, your website content and design may impress many users. However, if your website is not user friendly, the user might be unable to read the content or appreciate the aesthetics of the design as he or she is too busy in trying to figure out the basics, the links and the navigation. With a lousy user interface, the user might survive his way through the first time, but he or she will never revisit your web site. Flash is one technology that gives the developer the ability to create stunning websites with unbeatable user interfaces.
User-interface: What is that?
User Interface, technically, is defined as the control that enables user-system interaction. Analogously, if content is the entity that is your destination then the path that takes a user to your content is the user interface. Simplistically, the user interface is every visible thing on the website, from the buttons to the navigation links. A decent user interface allows the user to view the website without investing any amount of effort in attempting to figure out the basic working. The User Interface should simply require no learning and allow effortless viewing.
Flash and Its Capabilities
Flash is a particularly appealing technology. It allows developers to unleash the artist in them and is capable of adding extravagant graphics and interactivity to a website. It is a flexible technology and can be used to design the entire website or some parts of the website. However, Flash is difficult to get used to, in terms of the programming language intricacies. It has both positives and negatives to offer. Therefore, before you make a choice, you must be well acquainted to both the faces of this two-faceted technology. The major issue with all flash websites is that their search engine visibility is relatively low, and therefore, they do not rank high enough on the search engine results.
Reasons for Flash
The flash provides a strong platform for designing interactive programs. This is possible because the following features,
Compatibility with different browsers.
High end animations and graphics.
Excellent video support.
Can be effectively used for designing games.
Advanced scripting functionality.
Reasons against Flash
The high end graphic capabilities, in addition to other specialized functions, come at some cost. The drawbacks of using Flash are as follows,
Limitations related to speed and bandwidth.
Reduced Search engine visibility.
Requirement of a Plug for functioning.
Some inherent functionalities of the Internet Browser like the BACK button lose their functionality.
The Final Verdict
Whether Flash should be used or not is the website owners decision. Flash is a fantastic technology with unbelievable graphic capabilities, which allows a smooth user-system interaction. However, for website owners who cannot ignore the flaws that come with it and simply cannot afford an All-Flash website, the developers can use Flash only at the places required.
