Flash Sites

[MuirView Design]

Do you guys think Flash sites are effective, or annoying? I think they can look great, but they load extremely slow without a high speed connection. They are also notoriously small. I hate going on a site that is crammed into a 7 inch space when I have a 22" monitor. Anyway, I'm thinking of redoing my site and I'm considering doing it in Flash.

Here's a really cool Flash site that I like, but the loading is painfully slow. http://www.crossriverdesign.com/ I love how they have the background fade out with just a plant in the foreground staying in focus. Really neat touch.

Any thoughts?

[HRLand]

That is a nice site but even with cable I was ready to give up.

[joeymaze]

Adam,
I like flash sites myself, but I am like most people if something takes too long to load I click off of it. I think they have their place. I think with your new site you should not only showcase your work but highlight your SU talents as well. Have a before & after SU to real section. This will set you apart.
Joe

[bcwsport]

Ok, I have FIOS and I closed the site before the portfolio would open.......too slow for my unpatient web browsing.....otherwise, the concept seems really nice.

[sancraig]

Not a big fan of flash but am working on a redesign of my site and found this: http://www.flashnifties.com/xml_gallery.php

[SCgreenscapes]

I have some basic flash on my site, but my designer encouraged me not to do a page opener like that. In mine, you can see the content on the page while the banner loads.

www.SCgreenscapes.com

[SCgreenscapes]

I think he told me that on average that you have 10secs. or less to load one of those pages or someone will jet.

[JGabes]

Just my 2 cents, but I don't like the flash. Main reason is what has already been pointed out, too slow, it could frustrate a customer or prospect and they may just move on to someone else. Sometimes we can get caught up in the nice stuff and lose sight of the fact that we should make our sites friendly to average homeowners.

[Harmony Design Group]

Attached are two flash site that I really like. I think flash sites look the sharpest but I think you need to build an html site too so you can be found on the web searches. http://www.beechdesigngroup.com/
http://www.markdavidlevine.com/

[cgland]

MDL's site is awesome! It loaded very quickly for me as well.

[MuirView Design]

MDL's site is awesome! It loaded very quickly for me as well.

It went full screen when I clicked on Flash and became very pixelated on my large monitor. Makes me think differently about going with the full screen Flash option. The pics are nice, but the resolution really comprised the quality and overall effect.

How awesome are these walls though?!!