I had the question posed to me:

First and foremost the user should have a good experience. If you always make your decisions based on that then you’ll get it right most of the time. Another thing to keep in mind, and this applies to any user input, only ask what you need to know. If there is something that you want to know but is not essential to the task then don’t ask.

For instance, if you’re working on a site for an online grocery store then resist asking for things like the users favorite vacation destination just so you can target ads to them. I know, I know, you would never do such a thing but believe me, someone in marketing will ask for something equally inappropriate. I find it useful to carry rubber bands with me to meetings like this so that I can shoot people for asking for things like that. :-)

With that said here are a few suggestions:

If the site is all HTML then stick with HTML forms. Conversely, if your site is all Flash then do the forms in Flash.

Go with what you know. If you’re comfortable with one or the other then go with that. You’re more likely to create something that the user likes if you like what you are using to create with. Basically, if you can’t stand working in HTML then by all means, don’t use HTML to create your forms. You’ll be more likely to cut corners just to get it done.

Flash is obviously more expressive that HTML. If you want to create something that goes beyond the typical experience that people have with HTML forms then there’s your answer: Flash.

Advantages to Flash forms:

• You can control the font.
• Both Javascript and Actionscript are equally adept at client side validation. However, in the Flash environment you have more options for providing feedback to the user.
• I would give Flash a slight nod when it comes to maintaining state with the use of Local Objects.

The only intrinsic argument I can think of against Flash forms is the old, “What if they don’t have the Flash player?” cliche. We’ll when you’re doing something that is leveraging the browser DOM heavily your more likely to find people who have browsers that aren’t up to snuff but do have the Flash player.

I think that if you say to yourself, “I want to create the perfect user experience for using my forms.” then you’ll want to go with Flash because of all it offers. But believe me, the Flash part will be easy. The UX (User eXperience) work will be the most time consuming part.

If you do go with Flash then keep in mind what version of the player you are publishing for. If you’re not using anything that requires the latest player then don’t publish for it. Go as low as you can. For a project like this that will likely be version 6 or 7, depending on the code.

Last thoughts, just about anything you can do with Flash forms you can do with HTML/Javascript. However, if you’re really going over the top and manipulating the interface as the user progresses through the forms then the HTML approach is going to become more and more problematic.

With HTML you’re going to have to test in multiple environments. My biggest concern would be how my perfect forms are going to work on browsers in 2-3 years down the road that aren’t even out yet. I’d be in a “Here’s Johnny” mood if I had a bunch of HTML/Javascript that IE7 just took a crap on. With Flash, you’re just about guarantied that what works now will work later.

JD at Adobe points out how the web video revolution that was made possible by the Flash player is could repeat itself with RIAs.

I couldn’t agree more. I’m just amazed to see what people are able to do with Ajax and then I feel sorry for them because I know what a fraking headache it is to do that sort of work in a cross browser environment. I think to myself, “they couldn’t pay me enough to go through that.”

Not that Flash is simple or easy, far from it. But the cross browser issues are almost non existant. Plus you don’t have to worry about a new browser coming out that you’ll have to change your code for.

The good news for the Ajax crowd is that Actionscript is based on the same root language ECMA. So if they want to join the crowd it won’t be too painful.

JD over at Adobe gives a beatdown/retort to some Ajax evagalist.

Adobe/Flash has bent over backwards to accommodate the Ajax crowd. Flash has a robust interface for communicating back and forth with JavaScript. The success of Ajax does little to hold Flash back and might even help promote it in the long run. However, the opposite is not true.

If someone really wants to settle this, or at least put a big nail in this argument, they should hold a contest. Set up the backend server with the database and all and then give a team of experts in Ajax and another team of Flex/Flash experts a deadline to complete the client side interface. Then let users vote on which one they like the best.

I think it’s important to have an accurate estimation of the time involved in the work because that’s needed to get an idea of what the cost of development might be. You would also want a number of teams for each project and additionally a number of projects to give an accurate baseline on what each environment is capable of.

Of course one of the projects would have to be video/audio based. I want to see how an Ajax team might pull that off without using Flash. :-)

If someone really wants to do this I’m sure there’s a way of setting up this contest so that it’s fair and accurate. Go Flash!!! :-)

FLASH vs html

Lets talk about the things that Flash can do that HTML can’t: (in no particular order)

• Video. There is no way to put video into an HTML page without a plugin. Flash is by far the best option for web based video.You want proof that Flash is the best video option. How’s this: Google video uses Flash. Do you think they really wanted to use Flash? I have no doubt that they talked at length about their options and I’m sure that they seriously considered writing their own plugin and codec. But in the end the realized that Flash was just too good and too easy to use.
• Testing. If you’re producing a DHTML/AJAX site then you will have to factor in a good chunk of time for testing and the subsequent debugging. This process alone can take up 50% of your dev time if things go badly. Testing with Flash is much easier to do during development. This is where the plugin really pays off because if it works with one browser then it works with all. (Okay, I have had a few weird things happen between different browsers but that’s the exception rather than the rule with HTML.) Case in point: my FireFox browser crashes about once a week while using Gmail and they tested the hell out of that site. These things happen in the DHTML/AJAX world but not so much with Flash.
• Fonts. With html you can use styles of fonts but you’re limited to what the user has on their machine. With Flash, you can use any font you like.
• Accessibility. Flash has actually been ill considered as being handicap accessible. If done correctly it can be way more handicap friendly than any html based page ever could. All it takes is a little planning and a little extra work.
• PNGs. You want full PNG support with transparency? Yeah, put that PNG into an <image> tag and see what you get.
• Datagrid. Last time I checked there was no datagrid tag in HTML. Sure, you can put dynamic data into a table but you want the user to be able to sort that data on the client side then you’ll be using Flash.
• Forms. HTML/Javascript and forms go hand in hand but Flash can do it better. You have more options and can do much more on the client side.
• Usability. Flash gets railed on for poor usability. That’s like the hole “Gun’s don’t kill people. People kill people argument.” If you’re building a complex website and usability is paramount to you then don’t look any further than Flash. Anything that can be done in HTML can be done in Flash but Flash can offer so many other degrees of freedom in the design process that can aid in usability.
• Aesthetics. The coolest, most dynamic websites all use Flash. When was the last time you saw a blockbuster movie’s website that was done in anything other that Flash? That would be the late 90s.
• Site updates. I’d say this is really pretty much a tie with HTML/server side code. All it takes is planning. Bottom line is that you can make a site in Flash that can be easily updated if you know what you’re doing.
• Web Applications. Have you seen any of the new Web App sites that are as cool as Goowy.com? Have you seen any browser based games built with DHTML? I didn’t think so. Flash has become the leading platform for web based projects that are highly complex.

HTML is a plugin
You have no idea how many times I’ve suggested using Flash for a website or part of a website to a manager or client and had them use the dreaded, “Flash? No, it requires a plugin so I don’t want to use it.” Here’s what wrong with that logic.

1. HTML is a browser plugin as well. Yeah, it is. It just happens to be hard coded into the browser which was a horrible idea. You see, a browser is an application whose main job is to communicate with your systems network. It also has added features like storing bookmarks, adding controls to move back and forth through your browsing history, things like that. But a browsers ability to render HTML comes from a parser/rendering engine.Now from the very beginning that parser/rendering engine was built into the browser application. That was a bad decision because it limited how a browser could be updated. HTML isn’t a static language. It’s gets updated from time to time. In the mid 90s when all this was brand new things were changing pretty fast. For instance when CSS came out you had to update your browser to use it. It may take a year or more for the browser to be updated. It would have been much better if you could have just updated your parser/renderer.
2. Okay, HTML was built into the browser but Flash was shipped with just about every one of those browsers. In fact if Flash wasn’t built into the download/installation of a browser people might think that it was broken.
3. Flash is more ubiquitous that HTML. It really is. Flash can run on a large number of mobile devices and that number is growing very fast. Can HTML run on your cell phone? Probably not but in 2 years you’ll have a hard time buying a cell phone that won’t run Flash.