Advantages and disadvantages of using animation in business websites

Website designing has undergone major changes in the recent years, especially with new technology being developed to make better and more communicative websites. Use of Flash technology for creating websites is slowly increasing in popularity, with more and more website designers creating interactive and expressive websites. However, like all other developments in web designing, use of Flash or animation in websites has both its pros and cons, which you should consider before actually creating your website.

The most important advantage of using animation or Flash technology for creating websites is that it helps make the site more interactive and dynamic. Visitors to a website are naturally attracted to animated designs and means that allow them to participate in the entire viewing process. Dynamic websites often lead to more conversions in comparison to static ones.

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The tools available with Flash ensure that the designer can create complicated and excellent web designs, which would not have been possible in a static HTML set up. These designs also allow for easy transfer to other browsers without really worrying about compatibility and other similar problems. Cross browser support is perhaps one of the main advantages of using this technology. It is pertinent to note that most browsers have the requisite plug-in to play the animation, which in turn ensure that you can view the website, irrespective of which browser you are using.

Thanks to the technological advances, the file size of an average animation or Flash intro is reduced these days, which in turn considerably diminish the loading time of the web pages.

Just like everything has its own set of advantages and disadvantages, the use of animation in business websites too has its own set of drawbacks. The chief disadvantage is that these websites are not search engine optimized. Flash texts and animations are often not in the format that can be easily read by search engine robots. Thus, the very purpose of visibility is lost when you use animations in excess. It is important to state here that only if there is traffic will the attractiveness of your website make sense. In case your web traffic is considerably reduced because of its non attractiveness to search engines, the use of animation will nullify your primary objective of getting web surfers’ attention and bringing them onto your website. Too much of animation and graphics will also make the web pages load slowly, which could lead to a loss of potential visitors.

In brief, it is important to use animation wisely and conservatively. Most novices in the field often tend to overuse animation and make a mess of the website, which ultimately results in putting off visitors rather than encouraging their visits. You should steer clear of similar mistakes and make the most of animations to entice and retain your website visitors.