In addition, because flash is so often used for advertising, when the display starts, the result feels like an ad. Unless the design team can create a visual "hook" that keeps the viewer interested, the downloading image is ignored while the customer looks for the content, or if it is too intrusive, the visitor simply leaves the page.

We do simple flash images when requested, and have done flash template customization, but unless the client site has a topic (such as a drag and drop table arranger) which requires "movie" qualities, we recommend developing pages that stick close to straight html.

This recommendation has become timely, as the discussion over HTML 5 grows increasingly strident. As of January 2010, the ipad and ipod platforms apparently intend to exclude Flash swfs. Adobe has an upcoming Flash release that is supposed to produce files that will work in HTML5, but if a standard is adopted that excludes swf files, fewer people will have the flash player plug-in, which will limit their usefulness.

That said, if you require high quality Flash interfaces, or are developing games, we can recommend an independent free-lance Flash developer at JCRBdesigns.com.

If you are set on using one of the multitude of inexpensive flash "templates" available, (Monstertemplate.com), choose carefully, and be aware that many templates are set up with space for only 3 or 4 lines of text. Pick one where the flash image components don't limit the page capacity to hold your content. Although the initial cost may be low, customization can become expensive.

Interestingly enough, flash is often preferred by european developers.

Any time you use flash in an access gateway page, you need to provide by-pass links to alternate non-flash pages, and make an effort to detect whether your visitor's browser can read it. Those who do not have the flash plug-in can be redirected to an alternate entry page, or can be offered a link to down-load the flash plug-in.