The role of flash in website development best practices

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A lot of people ask me for my opinion on the use of flash on one’s website. They ask me “Should I use a flash animation on my home page?” and “What do you think about the use of flash for a brief product demo?”

Here are several things to consider when making your decision about whether to employ flash animation on your home page:

1. Do you target multiple markets?
2. How many different roles/titles are involved in the decision making process for your product/solution?
3. Do you have multiple products and/or lines of business?
4. Does each market, title, product and/or line of business require a different message?
5. Do you have a particular product or solution that you want to prominently display?

In terms of the use of flash for a brief product demo, ask yourself:

1. Is your product or solution difficult to describe in words?

We’ve talked about usability in past articles. When it comes to successful usability, navigation and messaging are two key components. You want to make your navigation is as intuitive/easy as possible. Usability also requires that you make it “clear as day” what your company does, including the benefits of its products/solutions. Flash can play a crucial role in satisfying these two components of usability.

For example, if you target multiple markets, you could employ a flash animation in a prominent location on your home page. Think of it as a billboard. The flash animation could have a rotating panel for each market. Each panel could have messaging and imagery specific to that market. To make it real easy for this target market to venture into your site, you could have a “learn more” link in the panel that takes the visitor directly to that market’s page within your website.

I think flash works real well in this scenario because it delivers a professional look and feel, another key component of usability. In addition, it will result in better visits to your website, meaning a lower exit rate from your home page, because if visitors quickly obtain a clear understand what you do and for whom, they’re more likely to dive deeper into your site. If visitors can’t obtain this understanding quickly from your home page, they’ll immediately leave your site.

The same scenario would apply to companies (1) whose products require multiple roles/titles in the decision making process, and (2) who have multiple products and/or lines of business.

Another effective use of flash is for products or solutions that are difficult to describe in words, particularly describing the ease of use and the benefits of the product. Think of it this way – “A picture says a thousand words”. You could get a lot of uses out of employing flash in this fashion, including:

1. Use it as an offer on your website. Entice people to view it with language such as “See how this hospital’s orthopedic surgery department has successfully deployed our product in (name the setting).” Or “See how easy it is to set up our product and begin (name the business benefit)”. Once the flash concludes, you could have a “speak to a product professional” link to encourage and make it easy for the viewer to convert into a qualified opportunity.
2. Use it as a rolling demo in your trade show booth.
3. Use it as a fulfillment piece to a sales rep’s conversation with a prospect.