Adobe Flash has been on a rollercoaster ride as of lately when touchscreen smartphones started to gain in popularity. Ever since the very beginning, Apple was against the idea of ​​having their iPhone and iPad devices support the Adobe Flash format. This shocked a lot of people since it is one of the most popular platforms on the web today. Just about every desktop web browser has Adobe Flash Player installed so users can watch movies, play games and view those breathtaking flash websites. However, it was far too resource intensive and that is why Adobe eventually stopped giving it the mobile push. Still, the Adobe Flash format is still widely used and that is why flash website templates still exist today. One of the best things about these types of templates is that you do not have to know how to make a website to use them. But before you start using these flash website templates, there are a few other facts that you need to know about these templates.

Browser Compatibility

When a desktop user visits a website contains some flash content, the user has the option to install it immediately so that means that there shouldn't be any compatibility concerns. Adobe Flash Player is available for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux and the latest version can take good advantage of the GPU so these website templates shouldn't bog the system down when they are active. If you completely rely on Adobe Flash for your website, you won't have to worry about issues on certain browsers either. Flash websites should look exactly the same across all browsers as long as the player is installed.

But one thing that you have to remember is that the iPad is currently on top of the tablet market so you cannot expect any of those millions of iPad users to see your website if you fully rely on flash website templates. It might be better to come up with a separate HTML version or try developing on the HTML5 standard which aims to replace Adobe Flash one day. Fortunately, a good number of Android tablets have support for viewing flash websites.

Graphics and Visuals

Depending on what template you pick, Adobe Flash can really make your site shine because you can do tons of animation effects and flashy transitions that can captivate your visitors. You just have to find a good template that suits your site well. There is also a steeper learning curve if you want to customize the template. You will also need Adobe Flash Professional if you want to edit the elements and unfortunately, that software isn't free. Also, if the template is heavy on graphics, the flash website template will take long to load.

To sum things up, only use flash website templates if you really need to impress your audience with fancy visuals and if you know how to personalize these templates properly.