Love Your iPod, iPhone or iPad? Not With A Flash Website

A few weeks ago I raised quite the controversy with my blog post What’s Wrong With A Flash Website For A Photographer’s Business?

While I covered a lot of topics in that post, and added even more in the comment section, it seems there is now one more reason to think twice before you develop a Flash website. Well actually it may be three reasons: iPod, iPhone and iPad. ipad impacts flash websites for photographers

As a part of Apple’s technology, they decided to move forward with HTML5 instead of Adobe Flash. Many of the online video sources like YouTube and Vimeo are also banking on this newer, faster loading programming because it doesn’t require as much memory, and doesn’t crash near as often. And with Apple always being on top of easy-to-use and the most user-friendly way possible, this technology seems to fit the bill.

Now let’s look at the stats.

  • 89% of all people have a cell phone
  • 38% have stopped their landline service since owning a cell phone
  • 55% of adults have connected up to the Internet via their cell/smart phone

Yes, these stats are for all cell phones, and iPhone only makes up a small portion of it. But its clear the direction things are heading.

It’s been estimated that almost all Internet access will be via mobile devices by the year 2020. It’s quick. It’s flexible. And it’s instantaneous. If you’re sitting in a restaurant and an idea comes to mind, you can do your research right then and there.

Let’s say your prospect is sitting at a reception site talking with a wedding coordinator. They refer two photographers, one with a Flash site and one without. If this prospect is really excited, pulls out their iPad to check out their sites, they’ll be able to pull the one, and not the other. They may make an instantaneous decision to call the one, and not the other, especially if they are using an iPad, Netbook and iPhone as their main source of Internet connection.

Think of your customer first, and how you can make it easy for them to find you. What can you do to reach out to the general population? It’s not about you, it’s about them. It’s not about the coolest site ever, it’s about the best marketing ever. It’s about being there for your clients, ready to make contact when they are ready.

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clientexperience@todaysgrowthconsultant.com' About Virtual Photography

We're the co-founders of VirtualPhotographyStudio.com and have been writing on this blog since 2004. We started Virtual as a way to help photographers stretch beyond a part time income, and develop strategies to become a Five Figure Photographer or a Six Figure Photographer. Ultimately its all about lifestyle, and if your goal is to live as a photographer 24/7, we think you should have the knowledge and the tools to do so. Welcome!

  • Maïa

    Yeah but if your flash site has a mirror html site like mine, it’s ok 😉

  • https://virtualphotographystudio.com Virtual Photography

    Be careful with site mirroring. It’s dangerous business in Google. It’s much easier now to develop for future generations of accessibility, and to give people what they want and can see in an easy to use way.

  • http://www.sophotogenic.co.uk Lee

    My site is built on flash (though with decent SEO built in) and I’ve contemplated having a mirror site for Iphone users etc. Looking at my site analytics however, and of the 4500 visits to my site since January 1st 2010 just 54 visitors have accessed via an Iphone.

    Creating a site visible to ALL users is of course crucial but I’m not sure the extra expense would be warranted just yet.

  • https://virtualphotographystudio.com Virtual Photography

    Lee – I think the key to what you say is “I’ve contemplated”. That shows you are aware of the problems, and that things are changing.

    Yes, I don’t think Smart technology is mainstream yet, but its coming. Fast. It’s expected almost all Internet use will be by mobile devices within the next 10 years. And I think it will probably be even faster. The key is to build towards the future and for the best technology available for the world to see.

    Thanks!

  • Jordan

    Hey guys, this article is great. Sums up 2011 perfectly. This is the “year of the mobile”!

    I just started to get into mobile web design.

    My advice, wake up your web designer… If he doesn’t go mobile, kick him down the road! Hire someone who will go mobile. You want your content to get out there and lets be honest, if your photography site is flash mobile users WILL NOT be able to view you content. There is plenty of amazing designers who use jquery and java for slideshows. Good Luck!

  • https://virtualphotographystudio.com Virtual Photography

    Hi Jordan – Yep, mobile is only going to increase from here. To ignore it now is to push business away.

  • Kris

    Everybody is talking about the technical thing … but what about the view … As an Art Director I don’t want to see photography portfolio’s on a small Iphone or even Ipad. To judge someone’s work, I want a 23 inch screen at least !

  • https://virtualphotographystudio.com Virtual Photography

    Kris – Interesting take on viewing a portfolio. That’s always something to keep in mind as you’re visiting and approaching different possibilities.
    Lori