Not many people who have a flash website even know they have one – and they also might not be aware of Apple products (such as iPhone, iPad) will no longer support Flash content. Being a web designer / developer, this topic is very important to my business.
I found this great article from Steve Jobs (Apple CEO). I’m going to highlight the most important pieces for the consumer, not so much me, the designer:
- Rather than use Flash, Apple has adopted HTML5, CSS and JavaScript – all open standards. Apple’s mobile devices all ship with high performance, low power implementations of these open standards. HTML5 … lets web developers create advanced graphics, typography, animations and transitions without relying on third party browser plug-ins (like Flash).
HTML and CSS are my main areas of expertise. To see my web portfolio, please click here.
- Adobe has repeatedly said that Apple mobile devices cannot access “the full web” because 75% of video on the web is in Flash. What they don’t say is that almost all this video is also available in a more modern format, H.264, and viewable on iPhones, iPods and iPads. YouTube, with an estimated 40% of the web’s video, shines in an app bundled on all Apple mobile devices, with the iPad offering perhaps the best YouTube discovery and viewing experience ever.
Not to worry, the web isn’t dependent on Flash. I’m familiar with encoding video to the proper H.264 format.
- Another Adobe claim is that Apple devices cannot play Flash games. This is true. Fortunately, there are over 50,000 games and entertainment titles on the App Store, and many of them are free. There are more games and entertainment titles available for iPhone, iPod and iPad than for any other platform in the world.
Apple applications are coded in a programming language, such as C
- Symantec recently highlighted Flash for having one of the worst security records in 2009. We also know first hand that Flash is the number one reason Macs crash. We have been working with Adobe to fix these problems, but they have persisted for several years now. We don’t want to reduce the reliability and security of our iPhones, iPods and iPads by adding Flash.
This is a huge reason I support Apple. Who wants to run a program or have a website developed in one of the least secure formats?
- When websites re-encode their videos using H.264, they can offer them without using Flash at all. They play perfectly in browsers like Apple’s Safari and Google’s Chrome without any plugins whatsoever, and look great on iPhones, iPods and iPads.
It’s important to keep your website non-dependent from plug-ins. Plug-ins need to be downloaded and updated regularly. This can really bother your viewers who don’t understand why they have to download a plug-in, or those who simply realize it’s a hassle.
- Most Flash websites will need to be rewritten to support touch-based devices. If developers need to rewrite their Flash websites, why not use modern technologies like HTML5, CSS and JavaScript?
Please feel free to contact me if you’re not sure if you have a Flash website. I will go over your situation in plain English so you understand the next steps, if any.
- Flash was created during the PC era – for PCs and mice. Flash is a successful business for Adobe, and we can understand why they want to push it beyond PCs. But the mobile era is about low power devices, touch interfaces and open web standards – all areas where Flash falls short.
- New open standards created in the mobile era, such as HTML5, will win on mobile devices (and PCs too).
I can re-develop it in HTML so you’re site won’t feel reprimands of this change.
