Macromedia has really been pushing a technology called Flash for the last several years. Basically, it provides animations on the Web, although Macromedia has been hard at work extending Flash so that it now connects to databases, creates forms, and does all sorts of neat tricks. Unfortunately, it really doesn't belong on most Web sites.

Most Web sites use Flash to either provide a splash page ('Welcome to Widgets, Inc.! Watch the pretty words zoom around for a minute and then we'll take you on into our Web site!') or site navigation. Both are almost always a big mistake.

Splash pages -- Flash or otherwise -- are a huge usability error. People hate splash pages! In fact, Jared Spool of User Interface Engineering said that after watching thousands of people in their labs, they no longer call them 'Flash splash pages'; instead, they call them 'click throughs.' Why? Because very, very, very few people watch them -- instead, people look for the 'Click to skip' link and get past the Flash as quickly as possible. The example I always use is Wal-Mart -- when you walk into Wal-Mart, the greeter doesn't make you stop and watch a 45-second-long movie about how cool Wal-Mart is. Nope. Wal-Mart gets it -- they want to get you in the door as quickly as possible! So why are you delaying the entrance of people into your Web site?

As for Flash navigation, this is another error. There are easier, more effective ways to create navigation. Using Flash only complicates your navigation, both during creation and during use.

A lot of Web designers learn Flash, and suddenly everything has to be done with Flash. Resist the urge! The old saying is quite true: 'If you only tool is a hammer, every problem is a nail.' Not to mention, you will pay those Web developers a lot more money to create those neat-o Flash animations, and most of the time you will be decreasing the usability of your site instead of improving it.

Flash is good for representing information that needs to be animated because that's the best way to present that particular information. In other words, Flash is an excellent choice if you are working with information about any of the following:

Processes (how to put together a bookshelf, or change a flat tire),
Time (timelines, like 'Our Last 50 Years'), or
Space (spatial layouts, or panning and zooming)

If you're using Flash for one of those purposes, it's an excellent tool; otherwise, it's eye-candy.