Flash
While much of the content on HSE’s web and intranet is simply text there are occasions when we need to do something more. For example, the best way to explain how to use a fire extinguisher is to show one in use, a good way to test your knowledge on something is to do a quiz. Flash is often the obvious choice for enriched content, but there are issues.
Why Flash can be a problem:
- Flash is a proprietary plug-in, it does not have 100% user support. Our own user statistics show that about 88% of visitors can access Flash only up to and including version 8.
- In house testing shows Jaws users (version.6) cannot access the content at all, the reader skips from <object> to </object> tag. Later versions of Jaws have increased support for Flash.
- Cannot scale text sizes in flash via normal browser controls
- Search engines cannot index flash documents. The asset is only findable because of links into it and HTML around it.
- Our stats package cannot track a user journey through a flash asset. Whether a user views one or many pages of a flash asset it is still counted as one page request.
- Using Flash, as with any other plug-in, can break the back button, which is the second most used navigation tool on the web.
- Flash content is difficult to edit and therefore slower and more expensive to modify. Getting Flash products created internally can go some way around this particular issue.
The benefits of HTML:
- Everybody browsing the web has a browser capable of reading HTML
- It is very accessible, particularly if done right. Text scales, screen readers read it.
- Quick, easy and cheap to edit
- Users can cut and paste and add content to there own documents
- Search engines scan it and understand the semantics of HTML tagging, thus giving more importance to <h1><h2><strong> tags
- Our stats package allows us to track user journeys through a series of pages
When to choose Flash over HTML:
- When the business requirements of the job mean that the limitations of HTML/CSS/JavaScript mean they cannot cost effectively deliver a fit solution. For example, to embed video into an HTML page or for really complex interactions.
If we use Flash:
- Limit to version 8, to ensure it works on the HSE standard desktop and a wide audience base.
- Adhere to Adobe best practices guidelines, so do use labels, keyboard controls etc.
- Provide a text alternative.
- If a video, then we also must have a downloadable version and transcripts.
- Ensure it is keyboard accessible.
- Provide suitable contrast between background and foreground colours.
- Provide users controls to stop, start and pause animations etc
- Provide “breakout points” to allow user tracking
- Test using screen reader software – a trial version of Jaws (40 minutes) is freely available.
- Use sparingly - i.e. use only when required to fulfil the business need, not for the entire microsite.
- Provide HSE with all the source files (fla, flv, jpg, mp3 etc).
Some background reading:
http://www.webaim.org/techniques/flash/
http://www.adobe.com/resources/accessibility/best_practices/bp_fp.html
How to insert Flash onto a webpage
We now have a tutorial detailing the correct way to insert flash multimedia content on a page.
