Keys to Effective Use of Flash in a Professional Web Site

By Andy Selness, FindLaw Web Designer

Types of Flash Use

Flash is an ever-growing presence in Web sites today, adding an element of motion and sophistication. It is diversely capable but should be treated like anything else in your marketing endeavors—does it serve a purpose and is the point effectively getting across? In the professional world, Flash is most effectively used for two purposes: advertising and branding.

Advertising

When used for advertising, Flash can be very successful at informing a viewer and producing follow-through. Advertising doesn’t always refer to outside advertising, which leads people away from your site.  You could simply be advertising a key page or section within your own Web site.

It is important to understand your goals before you use Flash as an advertisement in your Web site. Are you looking to draw attention to something that requires people to take a course of action? If so, you need to plan out the rest of your Web site with the understanding that whatever information you are using in the Flash piece is more important than other elements on the page. If it’s going to draw attention and require action, such as clicking to view more, it needs to supersede the other information available on that specific page. That being said, it doesn’t need to be the only information on the page, just the most likely to inform, thus creating follow-through. Make sure it’s the carrot on the stick, leading viewers to where you want them to go.

Branding

When used for branding, Flash is incredibly effective at creating the recognition and awareness that are so important in making your Web site stand out from the rest in your field. Animating a logo, tagline, or phone number draws attention to who you are, what you do, and how to contact you. Animating a series of pictures that convey the type of services you offer also establishes branding awareness. According to Set Now Solutions, LLC., DoubleClick recently examined the effectiveness of ad technologies and found that Flash increased branding metrics by 71 percent, whereas there was only a 14 percent increase for audio, 9 percent increase for video, and 4 percent increase for GIF ads.

Consider Your Audience

It is important to understand your audience and consider your Web site from the viewpoint of someone who happens to find you online and doesn’t know a thing about you. Don’t use Flash for the sake of novelty.  Viewers make up their mind about whether they will stay at a Web site within eight seconds, and to make matters worse, their minds are made up about the visual appeal of a Web site within half a second.  That doesn’t leave a lot of time for a second impression.

Search Engines—Find Me If You Can!

Search engines can’t optimize Flash to an acceptable level—something you don’t want to sacrifice when there is so much competition and every search matters. In the entertainment industry, it is acceptable to create an entire site with Flash, full of animations, sounds, and crisp, edgy transitions. These types of sites are generally created for the purpose of promotion and advertising—largely for sensory appeal. In the legal field, Web sites are saturated with information. In a field where competition is fierce, you need to be in the running for every search performed, and your information needs to be more searchable than your competitor’s. This isn’t going to happen if your valuable information is embedded in a Flash movie.

Don’t Overdo It!

Flash should be used tastefully, in a way that enhances the design.  In the legal field, the general consensus is that people are looking for help, hope, and restitution, and people need to be appealed to accordingly.  It should not clutter and it shouldn’t distract. It should create awareness, but then quickly let viewers decide their next course of action, whether that be clicking to another page, or simply moving their eyes to another section of the same page.  If you want clean and edgy, make it quick so the viewer can move on. If you need to have a constant rotation of images and text, make sure that it is very subtle in transition so that the viewer can still read other content on the page without being distracted by every movement of the animation. If there is important information to be conveyed beyond the Flash piece, you are only hindering yourself if you don’t let the viewer get to it quickly. In a society where you can simultaneously be on a conference call, check your e-mail, and purchase movie tickets online, all while sitting at the drive-thru at Starbucks, people want things NOW and that’s generally not soon enough.

Make It Work for You

Flash is a very active and important part of Web sites today. But, just as many technologies afford capabilities far beyond our ability to use them, Flash, too, must be used within the scope of what makes sense for you as a business, and the viewers as potential clients. Captivate them. Be tasteful, be elegant, in fact, sometimes be gaudy, but don’t ever let it take away from the heart of who you are and what you need them to know.