Embedding flash content on the pages (.swf files) is a very simple process, and when using Dreamweaver, Dreamweaver takes care of everything so you don’t have to worry about all the code.

But what about the devices, that do not support flash? There are only a few, and everyone knows which ones…

Even though Flash Player runs on 97% of devices worldwide, if you are a web designer you need to consider the other 3% as well.  Also, because the swf publishing relies on JavaScript, some people may not have JavaScript enabled, so consider that as well.

Iphone for example, doesn’t support Flash Player (at least not natively, however you can run flash on the device, see the post earlier this week). If you navigate through flash content on the iphone, you will see a Lego-like block, like this:

I guess this is not something you want your audience to see. That’s where alternative content comes in, it’s just a matter of deciding what kind of alternative content you want to add. It might be a good idea to add an image as an alternative content, that looks like one of the frames from the flash animation. Or you could display a number of images as a sequence.

Try  to imagine your alternative content as a way to communicate with the audience, that doesn’t have flash on their devices. What would you like them to see instead of flash animation?

There are a number of ways to give your audience the option to download and install the flash player if they don’t have it on their machine, and that’s what we’ll talk about tomorrow.

Enjoy! 🙂