Starting an Online Business All-in-One For Dummies®, 3rd Edition

Choosing Substance Over Style

In case your head is filled with hot design ideas, we should mention that a good site doesn't function by design alone. In fact, sometimes you can make your site even better by sacrificing trendy design elements. The good news is that if you agree to forego a few of those high-end elements, your budget gets to breathe easier. The bad news is that some folks are just flashy, and breaking old habits isn't easy.

Okay, if you haven't guessed yet, we're talking about the use of Macromedia Flash, the intense graphics-animation program that some people swear is a Web site must-have. You've probably seen the images of fast cars that pulse across auto dealers' Web sites. Or maybe you noticed dancing fruit and animated paint splatters that mesmerize you while they move and twist seamlessly throughout a site — that's Flash animation. To be honest, its value is a point of contention among professional designers. Half of them agree that it's a beautiful, and perhaps even useful, tool. The other half think that the Web is better off without it.

Flash that's done well can be entertaining — and in some cases warranted. If you're looking for information quickly, though, or want to buy a product, having to continually trudge through Flash programs becomes annoying. Our professional opinion is that the majority of business Web sites can do without Flash. Why? This list has some answers:

• Flash is costly. The added expense for developing Flash animation wreaks havoc on ...