2011 Predictions Continued: Flash Disappears in a Flash

The decline of Flash in 2011 shouldn’t come as a surprise to many. Spend just 5 minutes on the internet, and you’ll likely realize the massive wave growing on the horizon as the mobile revolution. With mobile comes speed and compatibility concerns, and Flash just doesn’t cut it when users are attempting to access websites from mobile devices.

Smartphone Users Demand Seamless Connection

In a recent report from SapientNitro cited on eMarketer, smartphone users relied heavily on the mobile capabilities of their phones during December 2010 to help them perform a number of valuable actions: find store locations (51.6% of users); compare prices (40.4%); look for discounts (35.3%); access mobile coupons (13.6%); purchase products or services (21%).

The last thing mobile users want to do is wait for the information they are searching for. They are typically on-the-go, and simply won’t wait around for a website to load. Take too long or force your mobile users to deal with too many compatibility issues, and they will continue their search elsewhere.

Flash on Its Last Leg

While Flash is one of the most popular software platforms for displaying animation on web pages, Rosemont Media CEO Keith Humes believes Flash and mobile will have a hard time co-existing. Ultimately, web pages are about information, and that information in its most basic form is displayed in text. This is where the compatibility issues begin to cloud the mobile user’s experience, as the quality of the content suffers when displayed in Flash.

How to Ensure Successful Mobile Experience

As mobile use grows, the days of Flash are numbered. But more importantly, what does this mean for your practice and your patient’s experience with your website? Above all else, paying attention to the average mobile user has become a necessity, and must be a major concern from the inception of your website.

As your current and potential patients join the mobile revolution, considering their needs will increase the visibility and overall performance of your website. In the very least, be sure to include a clickable phone number so your mobile patients can easily reach your practice.

RIP Laptop and Television

Visit the Rosemont Review tomorrow for our final post on 2011 predictions as we explain why we believe 2011 will see an incredible decline in the use of the laptop and television. Hint: it may have something to do with the mobile experience.