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1. What is Flash? |
Flash is a software package, created by a company called Macromedia.
Flash has to be installed on your computer in order for you to be
able to view a Flash website. According to Macromedia, over 455 million
online users have installed Flash on their computers.
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2. Isn't Flash design only used for splash pages? |
Flash design can be used for almost any web application. Flash is
an amazing technology and, if used by professional web designers experienced
in Flash design for business sites, can be a valuable enhancement
to your website.
Our Flash designers have the commercial experience necessary to know
how best to use Flash design to enhance a site for its specific target
audience. Have a look at our Flash design portfolio to get an idea of some of the ways Flash
web design can be used.
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3. What type of sites should use Flash design? |
Unless a large percentage of your target audience is disabled or likely
to be using very old browsers, Flash web design can be used to enhance
just about any site. But exactly how Flash design is integrated into
the site will depend on your site's objectives and target market.
This is where VIA's web design consultancy comes
in. Our Flash designers are well versed in providing commercial website
design for a wide variety of industry sectors. We will provide website
consultancy to establish your requirements and whether or not Flash
design would enhance your site.
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4. Should my entire website be designed using Flash? |
How much or how little of your site is designed in Flash depends on
your site's intended use and target audience. For most sites it is
neither appropriate nor necessary to have a website designed entirely
in Flash. Instead Flash design can be added to specific sections of
the site as a way to enhance a site's offering.
Flash design lends itself very well to enhancing a site by using the
technology to create interactive quizzes, games, chat rooms, message
boards, etc. If they are appropriate for your site these features
all add value and increase "stickiness". Flash can also
help to increase a website's usability by making certain aspects,
such as order forms, easier to use. Our professional Flash designers
can provide consultancy to determine how to make the best use of Flash
on your site.
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5. Isn't Flash design detrimental to high search engine listings? |
If a site is designed entirely in Flash or the text and navigation
is only in Flash then the search engines will not be able to index
the site. Depending on your target audience search engine positioning
may or may not be important to you. If it is, it will be necessary
to ensure that the site's text and links are indexable or that appropriate
workarounds are put in place - such as a second html site or html
information pages.
If you have identified search engine marketing as being important
to your online presence our Flash web designers and SEO consultants will work closely together to ensure that
you get a professionally designed, engaging website that will be able
to achieve high search engine rankings. Flash can still be an important
and visually appealing part of your site, but by ensuring that the
elements important to the engines are in a format they can index you
get the best of both worlds.
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6. Isn't Flash bad for accessibility? |
Macromedia's
new version of Flash, Flash MX, makes it possible for a Flash designer
to ensure that the site can be accessed by those using screen readers
provided the user downloads a plug-in.
As a site rarely needs to be designed entirely in Flash, especially
if a substantial percentage of your target audience use screen readers,
accessibility features and a Flash detection sniffer are usually sufficient
to ensure that the site will be accessible.
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