Does Your Website Need Flash?

V I p

Does your website need flash? No. Of course not. No shit. This article is a little behind the times. Anyone who says this is the year Flash is rendered obsolete is a dumb ass. More thoughts on my blog, http://pixelborne.com/blog/why-flash-doesnt-suck/ (yesterday a new Nexus One preview was released with full Flash capabilities. couldn't find the link) -drunk angry Flash developer

There is no doubt that Flash is on its way out, it is just a matter of when and how. There are some serious obstacles to the coming Flash-free-world. There is a complete dearth of usable animation software for the HTML5 Canvas. Without a visual way to layout and fiddle with animations there is no way designers are going to be able to reproduce the quality of Flash Microsites in HTML without pulling out their hair. Flash isn't just a web runtime, it is a killer prototyping and composing environment. Developers building in other languages often use flash to make prototypes because it is so much easier than the alternatives. Flash also has a much more mature set of libraries for manipulating audio and video that are yet to be replicated in Javascript. Once this authoring problem gets fixed though, Flash is going to be toast. Look at the progress Mozilla, Google, and Apple have made with Javascript performance over the last five years. Aside from 10.1, most Flash updates have actually made the platform slower. With hardware accelerated Canvas support in IE9, even Microsoft will be pushing HTML5 graphics performance forward. WebGL is also moving beyond just being a 'science project'. Trajectory-wise, it seems inevitable that HTML+JS will be able to offer the same level of snappy, rich, experiences that Flash has in the next year or two. Look at the growth of mobile. Look at the improvements in HTML5 video implementations over the last 6 months. Flash is getting lapped by the open web. Any development shop worth its salt should be making the transition now. It is our responsibility as consultants to push our clients forward, not blindly tow-the-line with whatever clients think they want. At Thirdi, we only touch Flash (except video) to transition sites off of it. Two years from now, Flash websites are going to seem completely dated, and will be compatible with even less devices. Good on ya, Tommy, for thinking long-term for your clients. They might be asking for Flash now, but they'd be cursing your name for using it in a year.

After reading both the original response and the rebuttal ( http://blog.enginedigital.com/digital-marketing/flash-vs-html5-should-the-end-user-care/ ). Here is my two cents.

While I do think your argument has some valid points and I certainly agree that Tommy’s article in BC Business is far to simplistic to matter ( sorry bud ), to continue the argument of closed systems is getting inane. Flash is closed, proprietary and locked down in exactly the same way the iPhone and iPad are, this is fact.

For me the only true argument and the reason html, 5 or otherwise, is clearly going to be the dominant platform going forward is true accesibility, for the end user, multiple devices or the search engines. Never mind that Apple, Google, Mozilla and even the dreaded Microsoft in IE9 are all pushing it.

When flash came along it was like a godsend. Interactivity, motion…control…it was such a breath of fresh air from the limitations of HTML, Javascript and CSS. For a time you couldn’t have found a more vocal champion for Flash, it was the glorious future.

But something happened along the way. The world changed and we all have to admit, Flash got crappier. Search engines, specifically google became the dominant way web viewers accessed sites ( I can’t count how many times i’ve watched users in focus groups type entire urls in the google search bar and then clicked on the first link in search results ) and the major cracks began to show. The closed flash system started to lose it’s luster and now when smartphones and digital devices are on their way to becoming the dominant access point for content and services, the death knell is in fact afoot.

But wait you say, Flash does run on Smartphones…uh does it? See John Gruber’s post on this earlier in the week?

Jeff Croft on Adobes Android Flash Demo at FlashCamp Seattle Jeff Croft:

Then, he pulled up the same thing on his Nexus One. The sites progress bar filled in and the 3D world appeared for a few seconds before the browser crashed. Ryan said (paraphrasing), Whoops! Well, its beta, and this is an intense example lets try it again. He tried it again and got the same result. So he said to the audience, Well, this one isnt going to work, but does anyone have a Flash site theyd like to see running? Someone shouted out Hulu. Ryan said, Hulu doesnt work, and then wrapped up his demo, telling people if they wanted to try more sites they could find him later and hed let them play with his Nexus One.

Adobe, you are in a hole. It is already very deep. Time to stop digging.

And do you think for a second that the open source kings of the world, Google, will tolerate Flash in it’s current incarnation? If you do, i’ve a bridge to sell.

Flash has some uses, as you guys mention. I think the AIR platform on the desktop is great and allows not only for a rapid development, but a decent deployment system as well. Kiosks, Games and console gamer interfaces are all applicable to flash development. But think for a second what all those have in common, they’re all closed systems, often tightly controlled architectures with beefy CPU’s behind them. The web is too varied and utilitarian in nature for that.

I also ready the study, the 2010 Digital Marketing Outlook and yep loads of flash love in there, doesn’t make it right. I truly believe that’s more our fault than anything else. Agencies, all of us, have been to lax in finding what’s best for our clients, in fighting for new tech and systems that will make their lives easier, not ours and they’ve bought that hook line and sinker when it comes to Flash. So of course they’re demanding more flash from us, i just feel like giving it to them is a disservice.

Flash might not disapear this year, or next or even in 5 years time. But it will happen and I for one think it’s going to be faster than we ever imagined. Just ask the developers at Scribd or Vimeo, or Ted.com.

@kmore

Stephen, While we'll have to agree to disagree on the influence that Apple has on the web market, I appreciate your response. I will also say that talented Flash development firms such as yours deserve credit. After all, the experiential value of Flash websites built to date far exceed those built with open source technologies. That is proven by your firm's own awesome website. I think big agencies will continue to make amazing experiential sites, and make a lot of money for clients and themselves doing it. Flash development will continue to be a good business for those who have the time, resources, and expertise – but that's just not us, and our client base. I see a web where interfaces work the same across all platforms, whether it's, Macs, PCs, tablets, iPhones, TVs or what have you. And I see that happening with open source technologies. I just don't see that happening with Flash. Thanks again for the feedback, Tommy H.

This seems like a very narrow view of the web, technology, and specifically, the role that Flash plays in the digital space. Flash is only for awards? Really? I remember way back when Flash first came out - it was 'Future Splash' - and it was around the same time as murmurs of DHTML were starting to spread. I recall a DHTML website for Audi that was a single kilometer long line of code that basically added a small amount of animation to the site. Innovative yes. But memorable and a smart use of developer time and budget? probably not. Flash quickly advanced, took over, and became the platform used to tell more elaborate brand stories online. It became the method used for delivering video after Real Player and Windows Media Player fizzled, it became the dominant platform for display advertising and rich media, and it created the opportunity for brands to deliver deeper experiences. HTML5 is going to offer another interesting opportunity, and change can be good, but will HTML5 replace Flash across the desktop web? I doubt it. Sure it's going to be useful in the mobile web space, but the likelihood of developers, marketers, the major web browsers, end users, and every other entity involved to all jump on board is pretty low in the short term. I'd give it a couple years at least. More thoughts on this on our blog: http://blog.enginedigital.com/digital-marketing/flash-vs-html5-should-the-end-user-care/