The market seems to be moving away from Adobe Flash with Apple’s decision not to offer Flash support on iPad and iPhone devices. HTML5 now offers a means to incorporate as much animation as you would typically require in a web site without using Flash so why would any web designer continue to offer Flash support?
Here’s our opinion on the advantages and disadvantages of using Adobe Flash in web design today.
Advantages of Flash in web design
- Cross browser compatibility. Flash even runs on older web browsers as long as you have an up to date plugin.
- Easy to build simple and more complex animation. Shorter learning curve for developers with all features bundled into one application and better results for end users. Great for gaming and entertainment. Complex animation with HTML5 requires a combination of technologies and does not always offer cross-browser support.
Disadvantages of Flash in web design
- Microsoft and Apple have started shifting from Flash to different platforms. Most noticeable is iPad’s lack of support for Adobe Flash
- Adobe Flash wasn’t built to support touch screen devices. Not so, says Adobe, but most developers disagree.
- It costs money. Adobe Flash retails at over £600 whereas using a combination of open standards HTML5, CSS and JavaScript is totally free!
Our conclusion is that Adobe Flash is in decline but it will continue to be widely used for media rich web sites and gaming.
Article written and provided by Reactive Graphics – Web design London – established 2003