Flash vs Functionality

Many Flash websites look really cool but if you’re browsing a web page it can get annoying.  When you visit a website built in flash you might get a message like the ones shown below.

• skip into
• please disable any popup blockers
• minimum recommended screen resolution: 1024 x 768 px.
• this site requires Flash Player 8 or later.
• GET FLASH PLAYER

To most people this would a no brainer but for some other people it might be enough for them to leave your website.
When someone visits your website they don’t want to be told what their settings should be or what software they need loaded to browse your site.

It usually takes people less than a second to know if they want to stay on your website.  Giving them instructions on how to view your website is almost like telling them “it looks really cool but you have to download some stuff to make it work”.
I’m not trying to talk you out of a flash website, we have few that we’ve built.  I’m just letting you know the cons of having a flash website.

Have you ever heard your friends say “I use Mozilla, Opera or Safari” and known what they were talking about?

There is more to browsing the World Wide Web than just Internet Explorer.  Faster browsers with more functional options and best of all………THEY ARE FREE!

If you have a website our you’re having one built.  Make sure you ask your web designer if the website they are building is compatible with the browsers listed below.   Most designers build with Internet Explorer in mind.  If you don’t ask, chances are your web designer won’t ensure your website is compatible with Mozilla, Safari or Opera.

www.mozilla.com (Be sure to check out their email add on Thunderbird as an alternative to Outlook)

www.apple.com/safari (If you’re a Windows user that want a taste of MAC try out this browser)

www.opera.com (Fast,lightweight and a lot of very user friendly free products)