There are a few disagreements that I’ve still got.  First, in addition to the iPhone not displaying Flash, other popular phones including Windows Mobile Devices and Palm also will not display properly either.  Second, while iPhone controls only 1.1% of the total market share for ALL cellular devices, depending on who you ask, it controls 16-30% of the market for SmartPhones, meaning that as many as 1 in 3 of the phones built for browsing can’t see your Flash-based website.  

Nike.com is a great site.  You could not have accomplished the same WOW factor in HTML.  However, Endless.com is also an amazing e-commerce shoe site.  My personal opinion is that Endless is easier to use.  The navigation is immediate, the interface is familiar and the back button takes me back one page, rather than back to the beginning.

I’d also say that if you’re going to use Flash, use it!  Why can I zoom in on the details of the shoe on Endless, a non-Flash site, and not on Nike?  As I said in the previous posting, use Flash to add value, not just for kicks.  It’s definitely slower to load and usually less intuitive than HTML counterparts, so make sure that you are adding value other than just  ”pretty”. 

Before finishing with Nike, I’d also say that this site would fall more into the Portfolio category that I mentioned was still okay for Flash sites.  It is, afterall, a portfolio of their shoes, in the same way that we produced several all-flash art/exhibit portfolios for the Indiana State Museum.  Notice that when you go to Nike’s Corporate Site (also an awesome site), you can do a quick run-through without finding a stitch of Flash.

It’s a disagreement between several developers and the conversation will likely go on.  From our viewpoint, Flash is becoming more popular, but as an element, rather than the entire site.  I don’t see a day soon when we’ll see a significant percentage of corporate sites moving to all-Flash.  However, we’ll keep our ears and eyes out and if that’s what their users demand, we xiik geeks will be among the first agencies to change course and lead our clients that way.  I think that the overall lesson is “know thy audience.”

Thank you again, Mark, for sparking such an interesting discussion!

There was a period of time when Flash first came out that everybody jumped on the bandwagon and decided to (over)use it.  Similar to how frames and blinking text could be found on every site built in 1998, Flash was huge soon thereafter.  Then came the sudden slowdown as people realized incompatability issues – your users had to download a Flash Player to display Flash on your site – and that the load times were really bad for dialup users.  Unfortunately, this only slowed the overabundance of Flash sites briefly, as the newest versions of each browser came with Flash pre-installed and cable modems/DSL became more prevalent.

Fast-forward 8-10 years.  Now Flash is everywhere, again.  The trendiest places, especially restaurants, bars and music venues want to go all-Flash because things move and there are pictures and it’s interactive and it’s just…”wow”.  Somewhere along the way web designers united in giving up function for form.

What’s wrong with Flash sites?  Well, picture yourself at a social event (as I was last Thursday) at 10pm, trying to decide if you are going to walk 3 blocks down the street in negative temperatures to grab food at the hot new restaurant, Forty-Five Degrees.  Unfortunately, you can’t remember if they stop serving at 10 or 11pm.  Never fear – you pull out your trusty iPhone, type in the URL (http://www.fortyfiveindy.com).  To your surprise, you don’t pull up a hot and trendy website but, instead, receive dreaded blue box, indicating that the site is in Flash and cannot be viewed on mobile devices.  The owner of this establishment would not be delighted to know that he has now paid a lot for a site that has not reached his prospective customer – whom I’m sure would think it was lovely if they could actually see it – but, instead, has annoyed said customer to the point of PG-13 language.

Besides being completely unusable on most mobile devices, many find the sites annoying even on PCs.  Most users want to go to a site, find what they are looking for and move on.  This becomes difficult when they have to watch the site animate into a pretty picture, as I did this afternoon while waiting for http://www.scholarsinn.com/ to draw itself, wondering why they decided it was okay to waste my time.  Not to mention the near heart-attack it gave me when the music started playing (but we’ll save that for another blog).

Flash can still be used for portfolio sites, sites for kids or sites that should be interactive.  But if you’re trying to give people information like, say, your hours of operations, DON’T USE FLASH!  Already got a Flash site?  Simple fix – add your phone number, address and hours of operation to the bottom of every page of your website in HTML.  That way, even if they can’t see the pretty site you built for them, you at least won’t lose the customer.

And while the soapbox is still planted firmly beneath my feet, I’d also like to say that Flash intros are a HUGE no-no.  Nobody has the time or desire to wait for an intro to play.  In fact, every client we’ve worked with who requested it admitted that they always click the “Skip” button.  Don’t waste your money.  Spend it on things that the customer will appreciate and use.

Got questions?  Give us a call – 888.900.XIIK or visit us online at http://www.xiik.com

UPDATE:  Since the initial posting, 45 Degrees has changed their website from full-Flash to a hybrid (HTML with a really cool Flash component).  I doubt that this blog posting had anything to do with that, nor do I know what the reasons were behind the change.  However, I wanted to make sure that was clear that I was referring to their old site.  Not the new one.

There is a big difference between a web firm and a marketing firm, although now many web firms say they know marketing too.  If you hire a web firm, you will get a product – much like buying seeds for your garden.  You can’t be upset with the floral department if the seeds don’t grow in your soil or if the folks at your garden party think sunflowers are too cliche. 

Marketing firms provide a service.  The idea is to grow your business through an ongoing relationship.  That means early stage (determining who your customers are and how/when to reach them), the mid-stage (what to deliver to your customers and to start the conversation) and the maintenance stage (how to keep customers engaged in the conversation and spread the word about you and your business).  

Neither is better than the other; it all depends on your needs.  If you’re a pro at gardening (or marketing), you may not need the extra help.  In fact, the instructions, seminars and tidbits on floral arrangements would be a waste of time and money for you.  But don’t expect to get guidance from the folks who only sell the seeds.

Admitedly, it’s sometimes hard to tell the difference between a web firm and a marketing firm that provides interactive (web) services.  Watch for these five signs:

1. Early on, did they say, “Send us some sites you like?”  
Web firms focus on satisfying client preferences, so they want to see what you like, as you are the final decision-maker.  Marketing firms focus on the client’s clients.  They are more likely to be interested in competitor sites and sites that target the same demographic.  Unless you are in your target demographic, they probably won’t focus on personal preferences until they have first determined what will speak to your audience.

2. Do they try to push a lot of stuff at you right away?  
Web firms often don’t intend to maintain a strong relationship with you, beyond the project end date, because they are built for agility.  Because of this, they need to sell you everything you will ever need immediately because the relationship is often strongest before the contract is signed.  Marketing firms generally won’t rush you into huge projects.  It’s easier for them to split it into phases of what you need now, and plan for what you’ll need over the next several months.

3. Do you have a single point of contact with the firm?  
And, no, the sales gal doesn’t count!  Usually, this would be somebody with the title, “Account Manager” or “Account Coordinator”.  If you intend this to be an ongoing relationship you need to know who you should contact, when you can contact them and how to contact them.  Web companies would generally opt for a Customer Service Representative or Receptionist that would help troubleshoot items, but not provide sound advice for project-specific issues.

4. Does the staff seem qualified to give you marketing advice or does it all revolve around the internet?  
If it’s mostly a group of programmers and designers, their marketing advice will be limited in scope.  They know buzz words like Web 2.0, SEO, click-rate and Google Analytics.  However, when it comes to sourcing, market research, return on investment, cost per acquisition, top of the mind awareness and branding, they may be a little at a loss.  If they don’t know those things, you’d better.

5. Do they really push “Do-It-Yourself” tools?  
Web firms usually don’t have copywriters.  Whereas, most marketing firms would rather you didn’t write any of your final content.  A lot of work goes into the content length, tonality and target that many non-marketing savvy clients may miss.  Web firms are more likely to give you a blank Content Management System (CMS) and consider their work done.  Marketing firms will generally encourage the use of a CMS to make quick edits to text, but will encourage you to allow them to help with the initial copy.

If more than a couple of the items above were true, your “marketing firm” is really a “web firm.”  But, never fear.  Web firms have their place.  They are generally less expensive than marketing firms, are usually better at developing more complicated software quickly and work well with clients with a marketing background who know exactly what they want and how to maintain it.  However, if you’re looking to build your brand with the support of a team that understands how to efficiently connect future customers to your offerings, both online and offline, a marketing firm may be a better choice for you.

Learn more about the interactive marketing that xiik offers at http://www.xiik.com/solutions/index.aspx.

Unfortunately, most of these programs read like a prenuptial agreement.  Not only does your distance of flight and duration of stay affect the total rewards you earn, but once you get the points, you’re subject to upgrade limits, blackout dates and capacity constraints for members.  Hmm…It’s almost as if they don’t want you to use your hard-earned rewards in the first place.

We say take a page out of Southwest Airlines’ book, guys.  Points are in the single digits, not the 1000′s.  Regardless of whether you’re flying from LA to Vegas or to NYC, you get a point.  When you fly home, you get another point.  If you stop somewhere inbetween (intentionally…not a layover), you get ANOTHER point.  Once you’ve got 16 points, you get a free flight, anywhere.  The end.  

At first glance, it looks like you could pretty easily scam this system by flying between two close cities repeatedly and then flying to the other end of the country on your free flight.  Yep.  You scammed them out of the $200 difference between the two flights.  I’d bet after eight round-trips and not having to build a system to assign point values to flights and costs to redemptions, they saved far more than that.  Plus, now you’re probably pretty loyal to them.

Simplicity helps people see the reality in what you’re offering.  The more chances for confusion, the less people will care to participate.

We’re a interactive marketing firm.  It seems like what some of the other companies in our field forget is that while we’re great at delivering our clients’ messages, we should also remember to have a message of our own.  In fact, xiik has a lot of messages; we have a lot of points that, well, we believe other people (like you) deserve to know about.  That’s why we have this blog.

And we’re excited about it.  Not necessarily excited about typing random thoughts into a website each week.  More excited that even if only a few people check out our blog, those few people may benefit and be more informed by doing so.

We’re just getting started, so things may be a little less sequitor at first – we’ve got a very diverse group of folks working at xiik, across the country.  But, over time, it’ll all come together and hopefully you’ll leave a better person and, maybe, even a little entertained.  Stay tuned and watch us use this convenient forum to do what we do best – inform and educate.  It just makes sense.