It’s Time to Remove Flash From Your Website. Like Now!

If you’re still using Flash on your website, its time to get rid of it promptly.

So why is Flash bad for websites?

Flash has a long history of security flaws that includes bugs and malware. 

Adobe Flash is not the most secure product to begin with. Although Adobe has tried to keep up with patching exploits, they have been slow to respond to critical vulnerabilities which are necessary.

The site CVE Details reports plenty of flash vulnerabilities with the most common being executable code, denial-of-service and cross-site scripting.

These security issues prompted many security experts advising against using Flash in your applications or on your websites and now internet browsers employ tools to block Flash.

Flash has planned to end the application, therefore it will no longer offer security updates. This means any new security exploits will not be given updates creating a gap in your website security.

On December 31, 2020, Adobe Systems will officially stop updating and distributing Adobe Flash. If you neglect to replace Flash, this will have severe negative implications for a number of businesses and industries that use the outdated technology.

Browsers Are Blocking Flash

• Google will completely block Flash from being able to run under the Chrome browser.
• At the end of 2020, Mozilla will also block Flash.
• Internet Explorer will also discontinue and block Adobe Flash at the end of the year.

With all three major browsers ending support and blocking Flash from running at all, you basically have no option left but to replace this technology on your website and do it promptly.

Google Chrome and major publishers all plan to make sure the web is ready to be Flash-free.

Flash is also bad for SEO

SEO, or search engine optimization for short, is all about how your website content is structured and the strategies you use to gain better rankings on Google search results.

For local business websites using Flash, this will have a negative impact from Google.

When people are searching for a local business online, they don’t tend to scroll past page 1 of the search results. If your website is found on page 2 or beyond, that is the kiss of death.

Flash-based websites are harder to use and provides less content available for Google to index. This leads to lower SEO ranking, as Google wants to direct users to the most relevant content, but more importantly to SAFE websites.

Another negative aspect of Flash is the loading time. Internet users are more impatient than ever, so it’s extremely important to ensure your website loads as quickly as possible. Speed is essential from keeping your visitors from leaving because your site takes forever to load.

What should you do if you use flash on your website?

You will need to replace Flash with newer technologies which are faster and more power-efficient. Applications are now blocking Flash so its imperative you replace it with more secure technology to keep your visitors and customers safer while shopping, banking, or reading sensitive documents.

Flash also does NOT work well on mobile devices so this is very important to fix promptly.

HTML 5 code is the best replacement for Flash. It is supported by all browsers, more efficient, and works on all types of devices, especially mobile phones.

Plus, you don’t need any special software to run it and there won’t be security issues to worry about.

With Adobe’s plans to stop supporting Flash at the end of 2020, time is running out to update your website if you are still using flash on it.

If you still have Flash running on your website, by December 31st it will simply be unusable on your website causing serious frustration to your audience.

With a very large percentage of internet traffic using mobile phones and tablets now, replacing Flash has to be a top priority.

Since the demise of Flash is fast approaching, if you still use flash on your website, you better get it replaced right away.

All of our new website designs and upgrades includes the latest security features and responsive themes to provide the best user experience for your mobile and desktop visitors.

As web designers with strategic marketing strategies that are proven to work, we know how important being Flash-free is from a security standpoint and we look forward to working with every business to improve their online presence and make the web better and safer for all.

Contact us now if you need your website updated to remove Flash.