Trend 33: Mobile Devices, From Flash to HTML5
The development of Flash for mobile devices has officially ceased. Adobe has announced that it will commit its resources to HTML5, a platform with broader support capabilities. After Apple excluded the use of Adobe Flash player in its mobile devices in support of HTML5, Adobe reluctantly announced that they would commit to HTML5. However, many websites still depend on Flash for videos, interactive images and interfaces. Relying on Flash for the main content and navigation of your site cripples it when it comes to visitors who connect using an Apple mobile device.
According to a study by comScore, the three month average of Apple smartphone subscribers for a study ending in June 2012 was 32%. Google’s Android topped the list with 52%. These numbers show to ignore the switch from Flash to HTML5 would affect how a third of mobile Internet users view your website.
We looked at a random sample of SEMA-member manufacturer websites and found that 72% still used Flash on their websites. Many used it for a significant part of their homepage.
Dave Meeker of Website Magazine (October 2012 issue) gives several tips and an overview of how to make the switch to HTML5 as smooth as possible. The article suggests that “users won’t care what tools were used to create your application, but they will care if it doesn’t work well or meet their expectations.” To put it simply, you don’t have to recreate all of your Flash content using HTML5. You can create interactive HTML, CSS and Javascript content that displays properly on any mobile device and computer alike.
Good luck transitioning your website!
Join us tomorrow as we discuss the consumer’s definition of “performance.”