Flash To Rest In Peace - And About Time Too

Microsoft announced this week that it has banned Flash and other plug-ins in the default browser of Windows 8, just like Steve Jobs did last year when Apple banned Flash from the iPhone and iPad.

What this means for hotels, guest houses and any other business with websites built on Flash is that it is becoming more difficult for guests to find them online, and that their sites are losing ROI by the minute - even if they're fully paid for. It means it's time for hotel web design to move off Flash. Fast.

What's so bad about a Flash site? For starters, search engines don't ‘see' Flash. Google (and other search engines) index websites by noting keywords, content and metadata and rank them based on the specifics of what they find. To Google, Flash-based websites look like black boxes; they can't be examined directly and so they are ignored. Hotel SEO plummets.

Also, Flash is incompatible with most mobile devices. Mobile platforms now vie with desktops as the tool of choice for web surfing and searching. Flash based sites miss all of those guests too. Consumers on iPads, iPhones, and the majority of mobile devices get a blank screen when they attempt to view Flash-based websites.

Maintaining a Flash site is expensive. Using Flash's multimedia features to create interesting visuals is an expert skill. While initial design/development costs are likely sunk, the cost of maintaining and updating it are not - and they're high. As a result, many hotels end up neglecting the site and living with out-of-date information and images. They can't integrate their hotel online reservations with their Flash front end. Guests don't find what they need or like what they see, and they leave (for good).

What to do? Pretty much anything but Flash.

The Web has evolved immensely since Flash was introduced back in the mid-90s and there are better ways to enable hotels to offer guests a rich, integrated online experience. Broadband is now pervasive, computers are faster, and web standards increasingly support the visuals and animations that were once unique to Flash. These alternatives, based on the latest web standards (HTML5, CSS3, etc) not only look great but they are also far cheaper to develop and maintain. And they're designed to be compatible with mobile devices, and SEO-friendly.

To remove Flash components from your website contact Dave to examine your site and give you an informed opinion about alternative ways of marketing your unique product. davesnoek@telkomsa.net