Member Avatar for ChemE_Programma

Hello all,

I have a website made with a flash banner. The banner contains links that direct the browser to different locations on the website. The banner does not show up on iPhones and would like to solve this.

My question is, do I need to make an alternative website for mobile users? If so, how do I route only mobile users to the alternative website? I am using asmallorange.com for hosting and cPanel is my interface.

Thanks in advance,

Cody

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by SaintAce

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Short answer: the Flash banner needs to be replaced or given an HTML fallback — iPhones never ran Flash and Adobe stopped supporting Flash player in 2020, so relying on a SWF for navigation will leave many visitors with a blank area. See Apple/coverage of the “Thoughts on Flash” era and Adobe’s End‑of‑Life notice for details. (macrumors.com)

Recommended, practical paths (pick one):

  • Rebuild the banner in HTML (SVG/CSS/JS) or Canvas so links and accessibility are preserved; this is the most future‑proof option and will run everywhere. See the Canvas API and responsive techniques for examples.
  • If you have the original FLA, open it in Adobe Animate and publish to HTML5 Canvas (Animate exports CreateJS + HTML). This is usually the fastest conversion route.
  • If you only have a compiled SWF, extract images/sounds with tools like SWFTools or JPEXS and rebuild the interactivity in HTML/JS (respect licensing). (developer.mozilla.org)

Progressive enhancement example (serve an HTML5 banner, fall back to a static image if Canvas is unsupported):

<div id="banner">
  <canvas id="banner-canvas" width="728" height="90"></canvas>
  <img id="banner-fallback" src="banner-static.jpg" alt="Site navigation" style="display:none">
</div>

<script>
if (!document.createElement('canvas').getContext) {
  document.getElementById('banner-canvas').style.display = 'none';
  document.getElementById('banner-fallback').style.display = '';
} else {
  // init Canvas animation or load CreateJS/your script
}
</script>

For richer feature checks use a small feature‑detection helper (Modernizr or a tiny custom test). (developer.mozilla.org)

On routing / mobile versions: was right that server‑side detection and a mobile site are possible, and is right that a simplified mobile page is often easiest short‑term. Google and MDN recommend responsive design (same URLs, same content) where practical; if you must use separate pages, keep content parity and set proper Vary headers so search engines see equivalent content. For a short‑term compatibility layer you can also embed a Flash emulator like Ruffle, but it is an interim solution with limited AS3 support. (developers.google.com)

Quick checklist before deploying:

  • Keep links in the banner as real anchors for SEO and accessibility.
  • Add the viewport meta tag and test on real phones.
  • If you redirect mobile users, test the Vary header and keep metadata identical.
  • If you need help extracting assets or converting, start with Adobe Animate (FLA) or JPEXS/SWFTools (SWF). ()

References: Adobe Flash EOL, Animate HTML5 Canvas docs, MDN Canvas/responsive guides, Modernizr docs, Google mobile‑first guidance, Ruffle and SWF extraction tools (links inline above).

Recommended Answers

All 5 Replies

Member Avatar for almostbob

goto googlecode and get the mobile detect script
it is small efficient, and you can redirect flash incapable devices to another file with a simpler menu .
flash is killing your user retention, for desktop users as well as mobile users, a non flash menu would be better fom seo and user retention

Edited by almostbob
Member Avatar for ChemE_Programma

Hey thankyou. I will work on changing my websites, and thanks for the detect script.

cheers

Member Avatar for almostbob

sorry if I came across a bit heavy, flash actionscript can be SEO friendly, but it takes a bit of work,
these standard tests may assist you in getting it to work the way you want on a lot of devices

examine sprites for small images icons logos , always a good place to start on speed tweaks

html standards

handheld standards

css2 standards
css3 standards

handheld device emulator

iphone
ipad

problems (if any present) will show
serious code errors in the w3c validator sites will produce blankscreens in browsershots(other browsers link)

Valid code does not ensure the site will work ...
Invalid code does ensure the site will not work ... .. in all browser OS combinations

not all layouts work in handheld devices
examine css @media handheld { }
to simplify the style and layouts for small devices

fixed size elements do not work in any device except the screen they were designed on, current best practice is em or % for layout, scalar quantities that auto-adjust to window size, screen resolution, user preference, device capability.
Redirects to mobile subdomains, and or mobile specific css files, with small sinmple pages for phones and tablets is easy to accomplish, and if you separate content from layout, you can use the same content on all subdomains, with just simplified layout (images and scripts and css) for less capable devices

strictly code based, you understand(care about) your content more than I do

ONE OF THE BEST sitemap generators to get your site into your account

Edited by almostbob
Member Avatar for SaintAce

You have to either adapt your script to work on all devices (which is entirely too much work and really not worth the hassle) or make an alternative version of the content (or the entire webpage) for mobile viewers.

Member Avatar for SaintAce

You have to either adapt your entire script to work on all devices (which is entirely too much work and really not worth the hassle) or make an alternative version of the content (or the entire page) for mobile viewers.

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