A month ago I was asked to write on how heavy usage of Flash effects the User Experience of a website, specifically for Interactive Agencies by Brain Schartz (twitter).

In the example that Brain gives in his tweet, it is clear whoever made this site was trying to show off their abilities using the Flash platform. The result is a piece of digital ‘art’ rather than a designed website that highlights the agencies capabilities and work. This is a classic mistake of sites that go heavy on the Flash.

The use of Flash on the web has been debated for years, and best practices are well documented. Rather than rehash what is already out there I will just highlight a couple things to keep in mind when incorporating Flash into a design.

1. Use as an accessory – Don’t let Flash become the be all end all. The use of Flash, or any other RIA platform, should be a small portion of the design of a site. This allows for the content of your site to be more accessible and SEO friendly.
2. Degrade Gracefully – Using a full Flash site doesn’t inherently mean it will convey a bad user experience. Steps can be taken to offer a fully standard compliant XHTML alternative, and a style that support mobile browsers.
3. Website, not Art – Don’t get all ‘Flashy’ (pun intended) just to show off your skills. Showing off your business and portfolio should not be buried in a piece of art.

Using an RIA platform as part of your site can do wonders to impress your users. The old adage holds true though, content is king. If a site is too rich or too interactive, you can distract or mislead a user. Using these new and exciting interactive platforms  responsibly can offer users a much deeper and richer experience.

Some links to what others have said on this topic:

• 65 Excellent Flash Designs
• UIE RIA Archives
• What is “rich”? Why do “rich”?

If you have other links please post them in the comments and I will add to this list.