Inaccessible Web Design: Gone in a Flash
What will it take to convince the world that the end of full Flash websites is here? The opposition to it is overwhelming and the reasoning is irrefutable. Flash is great. It looks great. People like viewing it, designers love splashing it about, and site owners think they need it for some reason. Mardiros says, “Flash is the biggest trend on the internet to date.” I can’t help but point out: you can’t spell trend without end. Granted, flash has its place. However, it’s now widely known that it should be used in moderation. Flash gives designers a better means of expression. It can be used to create quality content, such as games, maps, graphs and other web apps. But when Flash overpowers content and usability, it defeats the purpose of the internet. Thomas Pries of Konstellation.dk is a designer who loves flash and uses it regularly. Yet, he says, “[Flash is] fantastic. But it has to be treated with great respect! With great powers comes great responsibility.” His site is a good example of how to use Flash properly. The main page offers a choice to view the site with or without Flash. And, even the Flash version of the site is easy to navigate. If you are still in the dark about why full Flash websites are such a problem, here’s the breakdown:
• Google Indexing. Misuse of Flash can seriously hinder your site’s search engine optimization capabilities. This is not a problem for well known sites like Disney.com. But, if you are a small to medium business trying to sell on the web, search ability cannot be ignored. Ask the man himself: Mark Berghausen of the Google Search Quality Team. He says:
As many of you already know, Flash is inherently a visual medium, and Googlebot doesn’t have eyes. Googlebot can typically read Flash files and extract the text and links in them, but the structure and context are missing. Moreover, textual contents are sometimes stored in Flash as graphics, and since Googlebot doesn’t currently have the algorithmic eyes needed to read these graphics, these important keywords can be missed entirely. All of this means that even if your Flash content is in our index, it might be missing some text, content, or links. Worse, while Googlebot can understand some Flash files, not all Internet spiders can.
So what’s an honest web designer to do? The only hard and fast rule is to show Googlebot the exact same thing as your users. If you don’t, your site risks appearing suspicious to our search algorithms.
• Download Speeds. Surprisingly, there are still millions of users around the world that use dial-up connections. Even broadband users are likely to click away within two seconds rather than watch a flash intro. Knowing that once they are into the site they will still have to battle some navigation barriers. Who wants to float a mouse around to find where the links are hiding? Give me side bars and tabs any day. Backbone Magazine reports that over 93% of internet users agree; according to a poll on Webcopyplus.com. Read “Don’t Make Me Think!…” to fully understand the importance of web usability.
• Time and Cost. Designing a full Flash site takes months. Compare that to the mere days or weeks it takes to create a content rich site in HTML. Also, the price is considerably more. If the animation doesn’t convert to sales; and, in many cases, it drives customers away then what are you paying extra for?
• Visibility. Flash is inaccessible to users with visual or auditory impairments. What else needs to be said about this? It disregards web accessibility standards and alienates potential customers.
• Shockwave Installation. New browsers don’t come with the Shockwave plug-in installed. Some users may not know how to download it, others can’t be bothered to. Since Macromedia Flash is not an open source, it will always have limits.
• Supporting Content. Filling a page with Flash is a good way to distract from the lack of content. If a site serves its client’s purpose as a long-winded, moving brochure; that’s fantastic. Unfortunately, internet users are generally looking for useful information and tools. These are the elements that create return users and conversions. Inherently, Flash doesn’t accommodate much text. The text that does fit has search limitations.
• Design Issues. Designers like the way flash can differentiate a site’s look. This is important; a homepage should always have something that’s memorable to users. I don’t think you want users to remember a ‘loading’ screen, though. Interestingly, research shows that website viewers are more likely to look at text before images. Many would argue that Flash is good for design. I agree. Flash is good for design, but it isn’t good design. Functionality is an integral part of successful design. It’s meant to solve problems and make things easier. You wouldn’t buy a designer chair that you (or your frequent guests) couldn’t sit on. Flash is popular because it looks good. There’s no denying that it impresses people. But good website design doesn’t compromise the purpose of the internet. It doesn’t disregard its users. A good web designer can create an HTML site that looks as impressive as a full Flash site. Using some unobtrusive banners or animations harmoniously makes an impression without limiting usability. A well designed site should be a total solution for the client, the business, the user, and the search bots.
I’d love to see web designers integrate Flash in new ways, keeping the user in mind. Most business sites already do this, but their aesthetics don’t always win over the design elitists. It’s a worthy challenge to find the happiest medium- for the good of the web and all of its inhabitants.