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6 www.ohiorestaurant.org Summer 2012 Issue

What is “Adobe Flash” and why is it so important for restaurants to avoid? Flash is a multimedia platform used by a decreasing number of web developers to create media-rich websites. Unfortunately, it is also an obsolete and a resource-demanding technology that is not user-friendly and could drive potential customers away. There was a time when Flash was cool and was used by a growing number of websites. Now, it is just something competent web developers scoff at and incompetent web developers use to prey on unwitting businesses, willing to overpay for something they don’t understand.

Problems with Flash

It doesn’t work on iOS devices, such as the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. Anti-Apple folks usually ridicule this point as

only one segment of a large market. This is correct, but it is a very large segment and a segment that likes to spend money. Also, in March 2012, TechCrunch reported that iOS devices gained a lead over Android at 53 percent market share.

Even on Flash-compatible devices such as Android, the technology is slow and clunky. Morgan Stanley projects mobile web usage to surpass desktop web usage in 2014, so why build a web presence on something that won’t even load up in a timely manner for more than half of all Internet users?

Search Engine Problems

Content such as menu items and descriptions, which search engines heavily rely upon for website indexing, is usually invisible to Google and Bing if a site is built for Flash. Sure, there are tricks and tools to get around this, but proper application of search engine optimization

will depend heavily on the competence of the web developer.

Many Web Users Disable Flash as a Method for Filtering Out Advertising

All of the major web browsers allow for add-ons and plugins that easily allow users to turn off seeing any Flash whatsoever. Oftentimes, these are the same types of web-savvy people who would use the Internet to fnd a restaurant or browse through a menu.

It is Slow, Unreliable and Constantly Requires Updates Before Use

How many times have you gone to a website, and it informed you that you needed to update the latest version of Adobe Flash? Just once is too many times because odds are you went to another site instead; unless of course, that site was yours.

There are Many Better Alternatives and Options for Restaurant Websites

Flash is no longer a necessity for a media-rich web experience. HTML 5 has quickly become the de facto platform for web video delivery as well as providing a seamless mobile web experience. jQuery and other development languages are providing many of the features and functionality previously reserved for Flash.

The best thing about most Flash alternatives is that they load faster, are easier to develop and are much more ubiquitous. They work on Android and iOS, and they work without constants nags to upgrade to the latest version of something.

So, the next time you set out to rebuild a website, or start one from scratch, just remember to say “no” to Flash.

This article was reprinted with permission from the Washington Restaurant Association. Special thanks to Anthony Anton and Lex Nepomuceno.

Attention Restaurants: Please Stop Designing Websites in Adobe Flash!

By Lex Nepomuceno, Executive Editor of the Washington Restaurant Association

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