The battle between HTML5 and Adobe Flash over who will reign best is still making headline news. The general consensus is that HTML is more beneficial, emerging victorious as the new successor for rich internet applications.
There are several shortcomings to HTML5 as the code falls short of its adoption rate. Many of our customers have therefore asked us to define the differences between HTML5 and Flash. This blog sets out to not only examine the differences, but to help our customers understand the basics of our web design services. To distinguish between HTML5 and Flash coding, we use 4 variables: SEO, Universality, Loading Time, and Accessibility.
SEO:
If your site is nothing but Flash based, you may want to consider switching to HTML5 to better your search engine rankings. First and foremost, search bots are able to crawl easily through a site developed in HTML5 coding, and can easily index website content. Another benefit of utilizing HTML5 has to do with the generation of buzz (links). All in all, HTML5 is more user friendly, allowing users to interact with websites.
Universality:
HTML5 is not universal, as not all businesses have rewritten their websites in the HTML5 coding. Flash, on the other hand, is universal and will work on any browser.
There is one problem with Flash, and that has to do with Apple. Apple is fully endorsing HTML5 and refuses to support Flash based websites. With a largely growing market in the mobile device industry, this is one large shortcoming.
However, you should not worry about this as statistics show that HTML5 usability will more than double in the next 3 years. Be sure to check out our blog on HTML5 for more details.
Loading Time:
Most Flash sites can take minutes to download before the visitor even reaches the content – often times forcing the viewer to sit at a `loading` screen. Despite the courtesy of the status bars showing the remaining load time, it is still annoying to wait for content that should be instant.
Accessibility:
Although Adobe promotes the accessibility features of recent Flash versions, the fact remains that the tools are feeble, and few web developers utilize them. If a blind or motor-impaired user ever entered a Flash-based website, there is a good chance they would not be able to differentiate the content. HTML5, on the other hand, requires no additional plugins. Website browsers are able to access the website right away, of course with the correct browser.
Be sure to tune into our Toronto web development and web design blog on a weekly basis. We strive to intrigue and inform our readers about the latest news and trends in web technology.
Content Written by Alex Noudelman