Flash is without a doubt useful. Its advantages and disadvantages are not so well highlighted and that is basically what we are going to discuss. This way you can have all the facts on the table and decide whether you need to use it in your website

Advantages of using Flash:

- Almost all the common web browsers like Mozilla and Internet Explorer are supportive of flash. As long as every visitor that stumbles upon your website has flash plug in, then you have nothing to worry about. It doesn’t matter what OS they are using, they will be able to access the flash content

- In today’s world, if you are going for animation then Flash is must. It has wider application in the field of animation.

- Most applications that are based on flash are easily picked up by video players like Quick Time

- Flash games do not and are not affected by problems that have a bandwidth origin

- Graphics, like animations, are best brought out by flash. The same goes for images too. You should know that flash supports script actions

The Bad:

- Limitations with speed and the bandwidth. Most of the Flash websites are slow to download. In most of the cases, you cannot operate them before complete download.

- With Flash websites The ‘BACK’ button is not functional.

- Because Flash website is based on images it is difficult for the screen reader to interpret it.

- It is not possible for the search engines to read and interpret them either. The web crawlers look for the suitable text or content and look for the standard HTML link(s) demanded by the user. Only those Flash sites come in top ranking that contains both versions of the site i.e. Flash + HTML.

- Some people think that Flash pages are just meant to decorate the site. They do not have any direct relation with the website. People think that splash pages and animated banners are just there to provide site a comic look and nothing else!

Conclusion: So now you know all the pros and cons of Flash website development and it’s up to you to decide what is best. Flash offers numerous benefits but customer’s dissatisfaction and SEO inaccessibility are the prime drawbacks associated with it. When it comes to site navigation then it is highly recommended never to use Flash.

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