Even if you don't know what Flash is, you've surely seen it: most animation on the Web is done using this type of development, from advertisements and small text elements to entire pages and websites.
Flash is an extremely powerful tool for web designers and developers, and the results can be truly spectacular. But the fact remains that Flash development is not accessible on most mobile devices, it's not ideal for search engine optimization (SEO), and many of the same effects can now be achieved using standard web programming languages. For that reason, many observers think that this will be the year Flash will be rendered officially obsolete.
While they may be beautiful, websites powered by Flash will not compete well for search traffic. Likewise, most Flash based websites don't use a Content Management System (CMS), which means even the smallest text change requires that the entire file be reproduced and republished. As I've said many times before, having a content strategy is key to online success – and calling your Flash developer to add new content at $150/hour is not a viable content strategy for most SMBs.
It also happens that Flash, which is owned by Adobe, doesn't work well with Apple products. In fact, it doesn't work at all on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch – a significant chunk of the burgeoning mobile web market – and Apple CEO Steve Jobs confirmed recently that it's going to stay that way.
Without getting too technical, conventional Web programming languages such as HTML, CSS, and Javascript have gotten sophisticated enough to do what only Flash could do in the past, such as animations, fades, custom text and other cool visual features. Combine these tools with a great open-source platform like Wordpress, and the possibilities are nearly as limitless. While the debate is far from over, Apple and Google have both decreed that HTML5, and not Flash, is the way of the future – and I for one wouldn't bet against them.
Does this mean the end of Flash? For now, no. There is still a market for esthetically pleasing websites, if for no other reason than vanity: luxury brands with big budgets invariably have splashy, over-the-top websites, and it's no coincidence either that these Flash-based sites still win most of the web design awards. But I'm willing to bet that, as with your offline business, substance still trumps style for you at the end of the day.
My company has built a lot of websites with at least some Flash elements over the years, but I truly think those days are numbered. We no longer employ a Flash designer in-house, and all of our current and upcoming projects are being built without it, partly to prove to our clients – and to ourselves – that it can be done.
