[MacDV] Re: OT: What webpage design app to use?

[Danny Grizzle]

On 2/27/03 5:07 PM, "Thubten Kunga" <Kunga at FutureMedia.org> wrote:

> You can do it with Flash MX and/or Dreamweaver MX. Do you know HTML?
> 
> I'm taking college classes in all three and my professor thinks that
> the future of the web is in Flash Only Sites.

Your professor is completely wrong about Flash, as in "flash in the pan."

Flash can be cool, but it is not the answer to all prayers. In fact, the
track record until now has been inappropriate use of the technology in 95%
of cases, with a high backlash. In other words, most websites that do a
Flash makeover are hard at work within 60-90 days doing a remedial workover,
transitioning back to HTML. Clients love Flash, then they hate it.

Flash is good for novelty and special effects. It is not good for general
use in most major league websites. I guarantee, if you were to find a
ranking of the top visited sites on the web, very few would employ flash.

Examples:

  <http://www.cnn.com/>

  <http://nytimes.com/>

  <http://www.bbc.co.uk/>

This list could go on forever.

Database driven websites, and content management systems, are a completely
different story. I won't belabor this off-topic post with details on high
end web systems, but I will note that I have written several site-specific
custom content management solutions, and toyed with the idea of creating a
commercial application. I've even reserved a domain name, just in case:

  <http://www.contentmastery.com/>

What am I talking about? Well, let's just say this: in the time somebody can
create a single Flash page, my database can generate 100,000+ HTML pages,
all incredibly detailed, all flawlessly crosslinked, and with a unified
navigation system, no dead links, no manual processing, no proofreading. One
of my custom systems even writes custom JavaScript embedded in each page.

Flash, like any other special effect (to relate this back on topic,
slightly), is only useful when there is a compelling need for what it can
accomplish. It should never be misused or employed gratuitiously; this is
the mark of a beginning amateur. As for your professor, there is a reason
why artists and art departments are low (real low!) in the pecking order of
business. If your department is going to teach professional web work, they
need to include insight into Information Architecture and systems
integration with Information Technology.

(And yes, I know that databases can be used to generate Flash content. No
big deal.)

Danny Grizzle