4. Am I trying to accomplish things that plain HTML can't?

One consideration to make is whether a static, HTML site will do justice to your content. If your site needs to come to life in some way because it will engage your audience better, then Flash could be answer.

5. Will I still have good exposure on search engines if I use Flash?

Doing too much in Flash will sacrifice exposure on search engines. In other words, engines will not have enough text on which to base their indexing. If access to your site through search engines is important to your success, be sure that you don't overdo it on Flash side.

6. Do I rely on non-vector graphics?

Non-vector graphics, such as photographs, are not easy for Flash to process. This means that animations in Flash using this type of imagery will get easily bogged down.

Another concern is that Flash does not cache (or store) non-vector images, therefore they must be reloaded each time. Not a pleasant thing for your visitors! This is in contrast to HTML-based scenarios where browser will cache imagery for instant retrieval.

As you can see, Flash is not always right solution. This is true of any aspect of Web development, where you need to research your options carefully and choose right combination of tools that works best for you. If you seek outside help, make sure you find a team with right expertise and a solid track record to back it up. Good luck!

Josh Barinstein is President of Red Frog, Inc., the Southern California ad agency that provides worry-free experiences and powerful results in the areas of Marketing, Print design, and Web/CD-ROM development.

• Don't leave your pages without comprehensible title tags, clearly explaining what is your page about (title tag is page title you see on top of browser).

• Don't leave your site home page without text, explaining to your users who you are and what you are talking about on your site.

Difficult navigation, incomprehensible for user

• Don't upset user by bad navigation, making him feel lost. He could enter your site by each of its pages, not only by home page. If he/she enters by another one, he/she must understand what is his/her position on your site, where he/she could go by clicking corresponding link.

• Don't leave your site without a site map. The site map gives user possibility to orientate fast and easy on it.

• Always put on each of your pages a link to home page plus firm's name and logo, making them also a link to home page.

• Don't allow existing of a orphaned page, where a user could find lost.

• Don't change default color of hyperlinks, because users are expecting to see them exactly that way. When a text is blue, user is used to thing it is a link, and if it is purple, that it is a visited link. The different colors from default ones will throw them into confusion.

• Don't make blue a text that is not a hyperlink. That will also confuse them.

• Don't put a link that leads to same page, except these that go to other page sections.

No validated program language

The code your site is written in is validated depending on browsers from different types and versions.

• Incorrectly written program code will make your site users close it immediately due to its bad appearing in their browsers.

• The correctly written code is best way to ensure on your pages properly appearing of as more as possible browsers. It includes old versions and versions that will be published.