Web Design | Dangerous Common Sense

Another Hit Against Flash

I am in the process of switching to my first new computer in five years, a Dell which runs a 64-bit version of Windows 7. Surprisingly, I have had few troubles transferring programs and setting myself up. I see noticeable speed improvements, especially when I use 64-bit applications that are designed to work with the expanded addressing of the new system.

One problem:

I cannot use the 64-bit version of Internet Explorer 8 to surf unfettered through the Internet. There is no 64-bit version of Adobe’s Flash player, so no Flash content can be displayed on this latest, fastest version of Microsoft’s browser. Here’s what I see when I go to YouTube — which displays its movies using Flash — and click to see a video:

YouTube's Flash Videos are Inaccessible on 64-bit IE8

I am told that I “need to upgrade your Adobe Flash Player”. A quick surf around the Internet shows that I cannot upgrade my Flash player because Adobe does not support 64-bit browsers. Adobe itself says, “The underlying reason for this problem is compatibility. To use Flash Player to view Flash content on a 64-bit operating system, you need a 32-bit browser.” ^{from Adobe.com}

I was stunned. Adobe itself recently released a 64-bit version of its Creative Suite programs (CS5), but it didn’t/hasn’t yet bothered to support 64-bit versions of web browsers so that web visitors can see the handiwork of Adobe’s own Flash developer clients? Seriously?

No doubt I am way behind the early adapters in pointing out this lapse in Adobe product development and support. But, as a web developer, Adobe’s late-to-the-party inability to run Flash Player with a 64-bit browser reconfirms my belief that Flash should be avoided in most web pages.

Any business looking to make their site visible to the most number of people should hesitate before using Flash!

By Ozdachs|2010-06-05T13:46:51-07:00June 7th, 2010|Web Design|0 Comments

5 Questions

When I first meet with a prospective client it’s important for me to know about their vision for their site.

Although most people start off saying that they’ll leave everything to the designer (“just do it”), I have learned better. Business owners may want to leave all the technical details to their designer, but most people have an idea about some aspects of their future site.

Business woman looking at a web page I am about to call a prospective customer, so I wrote down what I want to ask her before I can tell her cost estimates and a time schedule. Here are some of the questions I have that will help her share her web site vision with me. (I’d be happy to hear of ones you think I should add!)

Are there sites you would like yours to look like?
These examples can be competitors or sites for businesses in different fields. Please send me links to those sites so I can look at them. Then we can talk about what aspects of those sites you like. Is it the color? Layout? Navigation?
How important is search engine optimization (where your site will show up in Google)?
Creating a site that shows up high on Google for specific phrases requires planning and it also places some design constraints on the pages. These limitations are reasonable. However, we will keep bumping up against them and I need to know if you care if people find your site in Google and in other search engines.(Search Engine Optimization, that is getting your site high on Google’s results, involves more than designing a web page. Obtaining incoming links, regularly refreshing content, and other marketing techniques build upon a well-design web site. But, designing pages to appeal to Google is the first, most basic, and most important step to take.)
Do you have a list of pages you want on your site and a structure for the site navigation?
Some people only know that they want a web site for their business. Others know exactly what they want on their site, how many pages there should be, and what the navigation path through the site should be.Please let me know what you’ve already decided on the scope of your site.
Do you want to be able to updates to your site yourself?
I currently use Dreamweaver to design and maintain most client sites. There’s a sister product of Dreamweaver called Contribute which allows non-technical people to update pages, add pages, change and add images, and to make other changes to sites created in Dreamweaver.In general, clients with Dreamweaver-created sites can purchase Contribute from Adobe and start doing their own updates with little web designer involvement. There is some minor preparation I need to do to make the site Contribute-friendly, and it is good for me to know that Contribute is coming as soon as possible.
Have you already purchased a domain name and hosting service?
If so, I will need the user name and password for these accounts… For some of my clients obtaining these credentials from past web designers or from their own records has taken weeks of effort.So, if you already have hosting and domain name registrations services, check your records to make sure you can get to the services’ control panels.

By Ozdachs|2010-05-20T12:01:23-07:00May 20th, 2010|Web Design|0 Comments

Why Your 2002 Site Needs to be Redesigned

The sites of clients I’ve worked with for the longest time are not the ones I feature as examples of my work. The reason for my choice in reference sites became painfully obvious last week when I worked with one of my established clients to refresh her site. The work is still in progress and the new site isn’t yet live, but I’ve already learned alot.

When we worked on the site in 2002, all we were trying to do was to increase her visibility on the Internet. She wanted her clients and prospects to be able to find her site when searching the Internet. She didn’t have much information to share, really, but wanted an Internet calling card so that people would know she was a real business. She also thought she might want to update the information herself.

To meet her needs, we created her website using FrontPage. We optimized her home page for the search phrase “San Francisco Medical Transcription”, and posted the little information we had. In those days of mostly dial-up Internet access, I remember fighting to find small graphics that would decorate the pages.

We thought the site looked great! It even had a JavaScript slide show and a tasteful animated .gif. And, Pacific Medical Transcription shows up #1 in Google when you search for San Francisco Medical Transcription.

Pacific Medical Transcription 2002 web site

But, times, styles, and Internet norms change. Web pages no longer have background texture, mood music, and unrequested animations are either very slick or showing tacky ads, or both. FrontPage is no longer made, and most clients recognize that they don’t have the time to do their own web publishing so they allow web designers to use professional tools and blogs.

Today we expect web pages to be blocky, and we demand good-sized graphics. We want the pages to show up in a number of different browsers, so we expect that the code used to write them conforms to standards. In 2002, you viewed your web page in Internet Explorer. If it looked okay there, you were done. Now you validate your web pages according to international standards, and then you check them with Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, and on a smart phone.

What can I say? I just like the result of today’s web development better than I like the look of what we did in 2002. Here’s the prototype of the new site.

Pacific Medical Transcription 2010

The client chose the colors and layout, and we updated the text and added some stock photographs. It’s still a small, calling-card niche on the Internet. But, it looks like a 2010 niche, and will help her prospects feel comfortable with her business.

The shelf life of software — and web sites — is good. They don’t spoil and go bad. On the other hand, a site that hasn’t been touched in 8 years may not show off your business as best it could.

By Ozdachs|2010-05-02T12:35:25-07:00May 2nd, 2010|Web Design|0 Comments

What's Flash Great For?

I often tell business owners why they shouldn’t use Flash. (See this post for an example warning!) I might even tell them too loudly and forcefully, because I feel like I am shouting into the wind when I try to explain that just because Flash is bright and shiny, that doesn’t mean that Flash belongs on your web site.

I’ll admit it. Sometimes, Flash does belong on a web site. It’s an extremely effective tool when used correctly.

Here’s when I suggest using Flash:

When a visual walk-through of your store/home/product functionality will help visitors understand what you’re offering. These uses include:
- Virtual home tours by real estate agents.
- Property tours by innkeepers.
- Room tours by designers.
- Assembly instructions for your products.
- Video of your product in action.
Introductory testimonials or video blogs. These clips let your clients and prospects know more about you, and the warmth of your voice and face can carry the day.
Examples of your work if you’re an animator, videographer, or graphic designer. Showing how snappy and cool you are can help you get new jobs and can even show off your Flash skills for non-web projects such as business presentations.

Still, my recommendation is that these bits of Flash be embedded in a basic, non-Flash web page. And, whatever you do, don’t make your home page require Flash.

I have used Flash in sites, but my Flash objects have been movie-like things for the visitor to watch. I don’t use Flash for site navigation or to trigger any actions.

My first incorporation of Flash was in 2004 for a site redesign of a bed-and-breakfast. I moved the Flash introduction from the home page to a page about the property’s facilities. People looking for a place to stay no longer had to wait 30 seconds or more for the movie to download (remember, most people in 2004 were using dial-up). But, when they clicked on an inside page to see pictures of the guest rooms, the old Flash introduction was a great virtual tour.

There’s an ego problem with Flash, I think. A good Flash movie takes a lot of work and it can look stunning. So, the designers who have just created this Flash masterpiece wants to show off their handiwork. They make the Flash work of art the centerpiece of the web site.

Wrong!

The web site is not about the graphic talent of the web designer (unless the site is the designer’s own). The site should be all about solving a problem for the visitor, your potential client.

And, that’s when Flash can be great. When it’s used as a tool — just like other components of a web page — to show the visitor how you can solve their problem. Whether you’re keeping them from sleeping on the streets or you’re relieving their anxiety about your qualifications, Flash can be a great tool for your site.

By Ozdachs|2010-04-25T06:47:03-07:00April 25th, 2010|Web Design|0 Comments

No Flash in the Pad

My web design approach is to create simple, good-looking pages that attract visitors to my client’s web sites and then to their businesses.

When I first started designing, I had to fight persuade clients that animated cartoon .gif files and unrequested music were not not good additions to their Internet home. Times changed, and the music died down and the animated files became fewer and fewer. But, then, Adobe unleashed a new technology: Flash!

Flash lets web designers put movement and sound into their pages. Done correctly the animation is professional video quality, and the sound can be multi-tracked and amazing. It is terrific tool for presentations and for some online functions such as videos and virtual tours.

But, I have consistently dissuaded clients from using Flash, especially for “welcoming” visitors to their home page. (Why do people feel the need to welcome web site visitors, anyway?? Visitors want to be informed, not welcomed!)

Example of an iPhone blocking Flash. The tiny blue dot in the middle represents the blocked Flash -- the visitor never will see the key content on the center of this page.

My reasons have been:

Flash is more difficult to produce than simple text and photographic web pages. This means more work for me or another designer. More work means greater cost, and most of my clients are very cost conscious.
Search engines don’t understand Flash content very well, if at all. If you want to show up on Google search results, using Flash gives you a handicap to overcome.
Flash can be slow to download and start up. We’ve all seen the Flash screen countdowns, promising that they’re “loading… 55%”. A certain percentage of visitors (potential customers) will click away instead of waiting.

Now Steve Jobs and Apple’s latest gadget, the iPad, re-validates my recommendation to avoid Flash. Jobs has gotten into a slap fight with Adobe, Flash’s makers, about the application. Flash has always been blocked from working on iPhones because Jobs thinks it is buggy and has security flaws, and now he has expanded the ban to keep Flash from working on the hot Apple iPad.

Think about it: if you are a company trying to get business from Internet visitors, you want the hip visitors who can afford things like iPhones and iPads. But, if your site uses Flash, these best prospects won’t see what you’re offering!

Apple’s decision to continue to block Flash reinforces my decision to stay away from Flash as a web development tool. If you are a large corporation with a large budget, you can make Flash and non-Flash versions of your pages — or normal and mobile versions — to get around Apple’s Flash block. But, what a lot of work to use a tool that doesn’t truly benefit most sites.

My recommendation is to save the extra money you’d spend on Flash development and instead spend that on Google ads, updating your site’s content, or creating an email marketing campaign.

Flash doesn’t show up on iPhones or iPads. It’s relatively expensive to develop. Flash just doesn’t make sense for most sites. Sorry, Adobe!

By Ozdachs|2010-11-22T08:29:55-08:00April 20th, 2010|Web Design|1 Comment

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