Many websites today use engaging animations to hold the attention of their visitors. Web designers and developers have typically used Adobe Flash to create animation and interactive features for websites in the past, but now many have found that Javascript libraries, like jQuery, offer several features that make the creation of interactive features easier and faster than Flash.
jQuery was introduced in 2006 and is currently the most popular Javascript library used today. The open source software is free to use and contains the following features and functionalities:
- Rapid Web Development
- Cross-browser Compatibility
- Ajax Functionality
- Small Size
- Easy to Use
Flash was introduced by Adobe in 1996 and is used by designers and developers to add animation and video to webpages. While this multimedia platform is still used for video playing, games, infographics, animations and many online advertisements, it requires more time and is a lot harder to use when making edits.
jQuery is becoming more popular for several reasons. Let’s compare the pros and cons of each solution, now that there are viable alternatives to some of the Flash capabilities.
Flash Pros | jQuery Pros |
- Support for video and 3D
- More extensive features
- Can embed special fonts
- Vector Drawing and Animation
- Graphical User Interface (GUI)
| - Free (many free plug-ins)
- Compatible with most current browsers that are Javascript enabled
- Works on iPad & iPhone
- Easy to Implement
- Small file size (normally)
- Faster load time (better for SEO)
- Adds interactivity to standard HTML elements
- Can degrade nicely if Javascript is turned off
- Large development community
- Great documentation
- One of the most lightweight Javascript frameworks
- Microsoft recently shipped it with their code development template for Visual Studio 2008/2010
|
Flash Cons | jQuery Cons |
- High cost of purchasing Flash software
- Large file size (potentially)
- Not SEO friendly (file size and spider crawling)
- Harder to use & make edits
- Requires browser plug-ins
- Not available on mobile devices, including iPad, iPhone
| - Source code is not protected
- Less extensive features
- Limited features for 3D animation
|
With the growing popularity in mobile technologies such as the iPhone, Android or Blackberry, three systems that do not support Flash, many Flash based sites have had to turn to jQuery as a solution to this problem. Most (if not all) web browsers support Javascript, and therefore support jQuery as well, which is one of the main reasons jQuery is being used more often.
While compatibility is definitely important, load speed is just as essential. Pages that have Flash animations tend to load slower, which is bad for Google search positioning.
There are many Flash-like effects that developers can implement using jQuery including image menus, banners, animated cross-fades and more. For example, the animations on the Verndale homepage are JavaScript and they work on any device with a browser. They are also visible to search engine spiders as well. You can find many references online that can explain how to create Flash-like animations using Javascript instead of Flash.
Ultimately, Flash will still be commonly used in the future and will thrive in more advanced, custom animations, but when all browsers support the latest CSS and HTML5, there will be an alternative for playing videos.
We want to know your thoughts on using jQuery and Flash. Do you prefer one over the other?