Some people hate them. In any event, the messenger (Flash in this case) is blamed.
#3 - SEO.
Its true that Google does index the content in Flash files that appear embedded in homepages. But, it doesnt do a great job at it and you cant get the same value as you would with HTML text, for various reasons. However, pages with Flash embedded really arent penalized unless the Flash slows down the page load time (which is a good reason to keep any homepage animation short and sweet - see #2 above). On the other hand, unless non-Flash homepage animations use the alt-tag (which many dont for design reasons - some people dont like how it looks when the text appears on mouseover) or include real HTML text, they arent gaining any benefit by not using Flash - iPad Flash, .
#4 - Flash "uncool;" AJAX/HTML 5/Jquery "cool."
When you have Google, Firefox and Apple all behind HTML 5, its hard for Adobe to fight back (although Google still supports Flash rather impressively on YouTube, and most pro designers use Adobe products on their Mac PCs - go figure).
Also, I think there are deeper and more profound reasons behind how quickly people started reacting negatively to Flash. Note: this is not a comment on Flashs quality, usability or usefulness. And this post is not about app development or sites purposely built entirely in Flash.
This is a comment on current perceptions about Flash and how it relates to online marketing websites.
B2B folks specifically dont want Flash for their homepage animations anymore. Browser compatibility on the iPad and smartphones is top of mind of B2B marketers.
Reason #2 - "Flashiness." Clients have seen too many "flashy" or excessively long, elaborate and slow animations.
Reason #3 - SEO. Google doesnt index content inside Flash files.
Reason #4 - HTML 5, AJAX/Jquery are "cool," Flash is "old" and "uncool." When middle-aged executives of mention HTML 5 and say "no Flash," you know theres change in the wind.
Homepage Animations
Animations on marketing website homepages are the real issue here. For years, designers have been building, and clients have been asking for, some sort of animation on homepages. These animations, and the content in them, are designed to quickly show a viewer what the company or product is all about, since they grab viewers attention.
And since the functionality within these animations is very limited (usually just movement, linking and maybe CMS integration), Flash is no longer required to make them work.
The 4 Reasons and What They Mean
#1 - Flash doesnt play on the iPad.
The iPad is incredibly popular among folks in the high-tech business-to-business marketplace, so the people I talk to might be more concerned about the iPad than people in other industries. And really, theyre only concerned about the main animation on homepages. Video and other Flash-based page elements are not as big a concern - yet (maybe because there are so many site-specific apps... which defeats the whole purpose of browsers... dont get me started).
#2 - "Flashiness."
This reason has nothing to do with Flash itself, but is rather the result of design and content issues.
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