1.) Is a Flash website a Content Management System?
2.) Can I have one of my friends build me a Flash site and be a successful progger?
Adobe Systems Incorporated is an American computer software company headquartered in
In January 2005, technologically speaking, Mr. Galima only really knew: the Internet and Television were merging; Dot TV would be the future of Television as we know it; websites can generate money; and he needed to start a company and begin creating, securing, and investing in the Dot TV industry before someone beat him to the punch. U4H officially began creating, defining, and pioneering the Dot TV industry one month before Demand Media, Inc. jumped into the scene. As a result U4H was able to secure all globally recognized domains they believe necessary to continue to stand alone in the next age of Television Broadcasting. Galima went on to say, “To get things moving and set a feverish pace with a goliath on my heels, I was extremely stubborn and unwilling to compromise. When it came to developing websites, my primary concern was the look, feel, navigation, and content. I wanted U4H’s web presence to have movement and life. Time was of the essence and I made up my mind to use FLASH in early 2005; in fact at the time I made my decision it was still called Macromedia Flash; Adobe didn’t purchase Macromedia until April 2005.”
Many people really love Flash websites because of how these sites can be made to look, feel, and move. Product Blogging recently learned Unity 4 Humanity, Inc.’s first corporate websites were built entirely in FLASH. When asked about his first corporate site, CEO Anthony Galima shared with us “the only reason I was able to dream and build U4H is because I was not always a technical person. I always liked and will continue to use Adobe products, but when I began my corporation I wasn’t aware of how to couple existing technologies to a new and better advantage.”
Like many people and corporations today, in 2005, Mr. Galima was unhappy with the typical flat websites containing a few pictures, a banner, some text, and some obscure Flash elements. He didn’t like Content Management Systems (CMS) because they were very square, cold, and ugly; he wasn’t thinking about RSS Feeds and Search Engine Optimization (SEO). He wanted websites that looked different, had great content, and could generate revenue. He thought the best way to achieve this was by creating sites in Flash. “Shortly after launching these sites, I was unhappy. The information on my corporation’s sites wasn’t being indexed in Search Engines efficiently; the load-up time was sometimes very slow; I had no idea about the traffic coming to my company’s site; and I couldn’t have someone easily add video or add affiliate banners, content, and links. In the beginning all I wanted to do was develop U4H’s portfolio and it was difficult for me to get things moving because it was like pulling teeth to quickly launch sites and keep them updated.”
Today, website development must be viewed in stages. People and corporations now have the opportunity to use Content Management Systems compatible across Internet Browsers and technological devices. They can create and maintain websites capable of evolving with technological shifts. When discussing the look and feel of your website you should be talking about CSS; if you want to seamlessly integrate Flash into your website do so. When you are discussing Search Engine Optimization, you should primarily be discussing Keywords and “The Language of Domains.” If you are not utilizing language-like domain name extensions, not following W3C standards, and do not know how to effectively describe your websites content (video, pictures, graphics, text), you are behind the 8-ball.
Flash Websites can look amazing and have “cool features” but there is a time and place for everything. Flash accents can always give your site extra flare, and there are certain advantages to creating “promotional sites” entirely in Flash. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A SEO WEBSITE; OR IF YOU WANT TO SUCCESSFULLY BEGIN MONETIZING YOUR PROG, CORPORATE WEBSITE, or DOT TV CHANNEL—NEVER BUILD YOUR ENTIRE SITE IN FLASH. Flash websites cannot meet the needs of proggers and will not allow web surfers to easily find deals and links? A FLASH WEBSITE IS NOT A CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM. Flash is merely one of the best methods for adding animation and interactivity to web pages; and Flash is best used to create animations, advertisements, various web page components, and to develop rich Internet applications. Some people like to use Flash to integrate video into web pages, and as the Internet and Television continue to merge, and we transition to Digital Broadcasting Signals , utilizing Flash to integrate video is proving to be a poor decision.
Graphic Designers do just that—they design graphics and animations; they are not Web Developers or Software Engineers. For a number or reasons a Flash site really isn’t a website at all, it is more like a moving picture, brochure, page, or animation. The web surfer’s experience is dependent on: the sophistication of his or her computer; the computer’s plug-ins; the capacity of the servers/co-location facilities (how and where is this site hosted?); and the number of users on that site pulling information at any given time. One excellent example is Budweiser recently “pulled the plug” on their site “BUD TV.” Even with a lot of corporate backing, Bud.tv was doomed from the beginning. The site was entirely constructed in Flash; as a result they were unable to effectively monetize their Dot TV and content; they were unable to provide each user with a unique experience; and they were unable to collect and utilize valuable statistical data. For the web surfer it was difficult to quickly navigate Bud TV, and when there was a lot of traffic the site seemed to move in “slow motion” or “freeze up.” Bud.tv is mentioned in the article “Adidas TV has Sports to Fashion” because coincidentally enough just as Bud.tv officially turned OFF, a new sort of DotTV launched by the Adidas Corporation is now ON.
Any business or progger using a site entirely build in FLASH ultimately loses! Cumbersome Flash sites contain web content (images, text, video, audio) that can never be effectively search engine optimized and indexed. A Flash site on its own cannot be read by Search Engine web crawlers/spiders, and the methods used to “trick” search engines are frowned upon.
Next time you are on a site built entirely in Flash, click around! Regardless of what you click on, the address in the “http web bar” (for the most part) never changes. The owner of a FLASH website has very little to no idea what information people are clicking on and how they are maneuvering within the site. FLASH sites severely limit the amount of statistical information that can be automatically collected by the patterns and actions of Internet users. The only information that can easily be collected other than the information users volunteer (such as signing up for something or sending an e-mail) is the Internet Protocol Address (IP Address), approximate geographic location of the IP Address, and the total time a user had the website open in his or her web browser.
If you are not very technically inclined, you will not be able to update, manipulate, and change your Flash site efficiently with ease. The amount of time, effort, and resources necessary to maintain the site and keep information fresh will be daunting. Flash is a very effective tool for graphic designers and we recommend if ANYONE wants to use FLASH, they should use it to enhance the look and feel of any Content Management Blogging Platform they chose to use or create. (Or they should be prepared to hire a Graphic and Web Design Professional/Company to maintain it.) When developing a web site it is best to weave effective technologies together!
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