Farewell, Adobe Flash.
Overview
In the early 2000s, as the web began to grow in popularity and complexity, Adobe Flash became the de facto product for creating visually complex and highly creative web experiences. Digital agencies, designers, and developers flocked to Flash for its seemingly limitless possibilities. Interactive Knowledge was no different. Since its inception in 1991 IK has produced dozens of Adobe Flash-based websites, interactive activities, and games, some of which can still be found online.
As newer products and standards like HTML5 and WebGL have matured over the past several years, these technologies provide many, if not more than, the capabilities that tools like Flash pioneered. HTML5 has now become the best option for the creation and delivery of highly interactive content on the web. Robust animations and visualizations, real-time communication, geolocation, and even Augmented Reality experiences can now all take place within the web browser and without Flash.
The internet’s most widely used web browser, Google Chrome, will no longer display Flash content of any kind after December 2020.
The widespread adoption and support for HTML5 and the functionality and possibilities it can provide is important now more than ever. After December 31, 2020 Adobe will officially stop updating and distributing Adobe Flash. Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android mobile device platforms have long since discontinued Flash support, which created a barrier for users on those devices. Soon, even desktop PC users will be affected. The internet’s most widely used web browser, Google Chrome, will no longer display Flash content of any kind after December 2020. Other major browsers such as Apple Safari, Microsoft Edge and Mozilla Firefox will follow suit.
With Adobe Flash taking a ride off into the sunset, the only way to ensure these online experiences will continue to be available is to convert them to HTML5.
Education and e-learning sectors are likely to be most affected by this change. During the rise of the web, these industries relied on Flash’s capabilities to create media-rich and cutting edge educational experiences. Perhaps the content within these websites and interactives is still relevant and valuable to your organization but soon will find itself trapped in Adobe Flash’s tomb -- unless a conversion to HTML5 takes place.
Converting Flash to HTML5 content isn’t without its challenges (think about dealing with outdated, small media assets or lost source files) but the process can be highly successful and is typically worth the cost, given the amount of time and effort that has gone into so many online interactives. Interactive Knowledge has and will continue to work with our clients to replace Flash-based content in their web applications with HTML5 versions.
Does your organization have Flash-based content whose lifespan needs to extend past December 2020? Do you hope to expand your audience by making Flash content available to users on mobile or tablet devices? Drop us a line.