GIF vs. Flash

Reading Time: 3 minutes

{  GIF animation runs at the speed and the number of times you choose – from one time to ‘forever’. This one is set to run continuously with a 3 second pause between cycles. }

Is Flash dead?

A Flash course was required for my Web Design|Development degree. I worked hard learning to create animations in Adobe Flash. The next semester, in my Advanced Web Design course,  they basically announced that “Flash is dead”. What?!? Apparently the first nail in the coffin was when Apple decided not to support Flash players on its devices. { Apple – and Internet Explorer – do not play well with others. 😉  Enough said. }  My professor, and a student in the class who was already working in the field, said that the biggest trend in Flash was clients requesting that you remove flash from their website.

{  This GIF animation is set to run continuously. }

My Resolution

Bottom line, unless I have a specific client request to do otherwise, I came out of that course resolved to: 1. Make my websites responsive; 2. Create clean web design with minimal text; 3. Implement only non-Flash animation.

So, now what? Seek alternative animation options. One such option is GIF animation.

Techy Stuff

A bit of technical info { GIF vs. FLASH }

• GIFs don’t require an added browser plugin|player. Flash does.
• Flash can create a security vulnerability or open an exploit. { An exploit is a software tool designed to take advantage of a flaw in a computer system, typically for malicious purposes such as installing malware. }
• Flash is incompatible with some older devices, or even blocked on some portable devices or by browser plugins. GIFs usually aren’t.

What is a GIF?

{ This GIF animation one is set to run continuously. }

{.gif } = GIF is an acronym for Graphics Interchange Format. A GIF is animated by combining several images into a single GIF file. Applications that support the animated GIF standard, GIF89A, cycle through each image. GIF animation is popular because it is supported most Web browsers. { The format supports up to 8 bits per pixel and a palette of up to 256 distinct colors } = Due to the small color palette, GIFs are best used for simpler images like logos with solid color areas. Source image options include photos, vectors, logos or other graphic designs|illustrations.

A GIF file does not require a flash player, javascript or other coding|software to run. You just embed it on your web page and it runs on most browsers. 

Bottom line?

Bottom line? If in fact ‘Flash is dead’ – or at least not a good choice for your website, then by all means seek good alternatives. One option is a GIF animation, which can be used for everything from a fun or whimsical animation to an animated favicon or logo. Other appropriate and advisable animation alternatives are out there as well, so remove all Flash animations from your site, and replace them with a lovely high resolution image, a slide show, or one of the other animation options.