Using Flash in Websites – 2012 Edition
The question has been going around for years. The arguments for and against are almost infinite. Sometimes clients insist on it, sometimes designers prefer it. But is there a definitive conclusion?
As 2012 gets underway we note that the underlying trend for Internet access is mobile. More and more people are accessing websites from mobile devices and all credible industry analysis indicates that this trend is only going to strengthen.
Add to this the fact that both Apple and Microsoft do not support Flash on mobile devices, and that Adobe themselves have stated:
“Our future work with Flash on mobile devices will be focused on enabling Flash developers to package native apps with Adobe AIR for all the major app stores. We will no longer continue to develop Flash Player in the browser to work with new mobile device configurations (chipset, browser, OS version, etc.) following the upcoming release of Flash Player 11.1 for Android and BlackBerry PlayBook. We will of course continue to provide critical bug fixes and security updates for existing device configurations. We will also allow our source code licensees to continue working on and release their own implementations.”
We are noticing the growth in mobile traffic to our clients’ websites. It’s not a huge shift but does represent a shift in traffic that needs to be taken notice of. Failing to create a website that your visitors can access irrespective of the device they choose to use is simply shortsighted for your business.
So, in my view Flash should not be used for website development (caveat: unless it is the only option).