In general terms, when building a website, designers take one of two paths: make the site in XHTML/CSS/JS or make it entirely in Flash. It is pretty clear we usually take the XHTML/CSS/JS route and use Flash only to add touches here and there.

Our rule of the thumb is something I read a while ago in a website: Flash shouldn’t be used for things you can achieve with XHTML/CSS/JS. I can’t remember where I read it, but I do know that since I did, it has been my weapon of choice whenever a client insists on Flash. There are many things that XHTML/CSS/JS can’t do and this is why we have Flash.

So, what are the most common mistakes Flash designers make according to Ahlera’s philosophy?

1. Intros that cannot be skipped

This is, by far, one of the most annoying things that have ever happened to web design. Flash designers take a long time to make these intros and they’re so proud of them that they actually force the visitor to look at it just to show off their mad Flash skills.

I guess it never occurred to the designer that people don’t come to a website to look at intros. They come to gather information and the designer’s flash intro is getting in their way.

It is bad enough that the site has a Flash intro. Don’t make matters worse by not providing a way to skip it. This is one of the worst things you can do to a website and to its visitors. Not providing a way to skip the intro does not help anyone, not even the designer, even though he might think that his intro is so hot people HAVE to see it.

2. Music

The year is 2009. I’m pretty sure most people have a media player and MP3s in their computer and generally listen to them while browsing the web. Why would the designer want to interrupt the music of their choice with the music of his choice?

It is very likely that if the visitor is not already listening to music it is because he doesn’t want to or because he can’t. We as designers and developers should respect their desire.

People share spaces with coworkers and it is very annoying for everyone when music suddenly comes on. To make matters worse, some websites do not even have the option to mute the sound or have hid it very well within the design.

Unless you’re Pandora, people don’t come to the site to listen to music. They come to gather information and the music is getting in the way.

3. Cryptic navigation

This is one of the things that puzzles me the most. I simply cannot find a logical explanation as to why anyone would want to encrypt their navigation menu. Why would you want the visitor to not be able to find his way around?

Imagine you went to a zoo because you want to see kangaroos and all the signs are written in Klingon. Sure, this is OK for some Star Wars geeks, but for every one else it is annoying, especially if all you want to see are kangaroos and get out of there.

This is a navigation menu I saw this morning:

This type of navigation encryption is not cool at all. It forces the visitor to click on everything to get to where he wants to go. Some designers add a rollover to these things which is definitely better than nothing, but the bottom line is that navigation is one of the most important things of a website and it should be as clear as possible, unless you’re making a website for hardcore Lost fans.

Even though these mistakes can be made by people who choose not to work with Flash, they are most comonly found among Flash-based designs. It is not wrong to build websites based on Flash, but in our opinion Flash should only be used when you need to do things that cannot be done in XHTML.

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