In the mid-nineties, Adobe Flash Player was born to become a tool that would be common for us to find in browsers of the time. This tool would help us to play multimedia files. In the event that we accessed a website that would need to be used, a small window would normally appear asking us to install it in order to see all its content. Today Flash no longer has official support, so we are going to tell you which are its best alternatives.
For a decade, Flash was in charge of making it easier for all users to navigate the Internet, since the pages that until then only used text and images were filled with animated Flash content, allowing Internet browsing to be more fun. However, over time it has been deprecated until, finally, on December 31, 2020, Adobe stopped supporting and supporting Flash Player by default.
What is Adobe Flash Player
Flash Player was developed in the mid-1990s by Macromedia and distributed by Adobe Systems. With this software it was possible to play files in SWF format, created with Adobe Animate CC or Flex or other third-party tools. With it, we could be able to reproduce animations on our computer such as moving banners, online mini games or interactive videos, which was a great advance for the time.
However, over time, many companies decided to stop betting on this technology. Little by little they gradually focused on what would become its substitute, such as HTML5. As well as websites like YouTube, they began to forget about Flash, and the new iPhone for Mac was not allowed to use it, and in 2015 Chrome abandoned its use. And is that the use of this technology had some drawbacks such as:
- Low security : it was a software full of errors and when it was run as a third-party application within the browser, it was the target of hacker attacks.
- High demand for resources : in order for its use to be optimal, it required quite high resources from the computer, which otherwise causes the slowdown of other applications and the blocking of web browsers.
- High power consumption : Viewing flash content on portable devices required a large battery consumption due to the high resources it needed to function. In addition, it did not offer compatibility with touch screens, so its use on mobiles and tablets was very limited.
Thus, in 2017, Adobe, Google, Apple and Microsoft decided to put Flash aside for December 31, 2020, the date from which it has stopped obtaining support.
Is HTML5 the natural replacement for Flash?
In 2006, with Flash heavily criticized and in decline, a new language began to emerge, called HTML5. This language would begin to gain ground until it became a new standard charged, once again, with changing the way we interact with web pages, just as Flash did previously.
This new technology combines HTML with Javascript and CSS , to become an easy-to-use tool. Together with it, it offers the possibility of having a more flexible design and great adaptability with mobile phone screens. This, coupled with the fact that it was capable of offering interactive content similar to Adobe Flash, but without the need to install add-ons, as it was integrated directly into the browser. Plus, it’s was more secure and ran easily on any hardware without draining your battery. All this made web developers progressively migrate to this new language.
Alternatives to Flash for creating animations
If we need software capable of working with animated or interactive infographics, banners and microsites, we present the best Flash alternatives with which to create animations for our website.
Hippani Animator, one of the most popular study stations
This is a very popular HTML animation studio. With it, we will be able to develop scalable interactive animations, complete games, presentations, applications, videos and multimedia websites. We can publish the results in any browser and device compatible with HTML5. What we can highlight the most about this software is its interactivity which, together with its ease of use, offers the possibility of making complex animations without the need for programming knowledge.
Unlike Flash, Hippani Animator converts animations into an HTML page that is capable of adapting to the size of any web browser, allowing our animation into a web page with one line of code. Animations can be made up of images, videos and contain audio files, something that we can do with its built-in image editor. In addition, you can link YouTube and Vimeo videos that are played with the help of HMTL5.
Hippani Animator has a Starter Edition version that is completely free that we can download from its website , as well as a Professional version that has a cost of 39 euros and with which we can take full advantage of the application and from which we can download a 30-day trial version.
HTML5 Maker, develops all kinds of animations in HTML5
In we now have a very intuitive online application that will allow users to develop banners, presentations, sliders and slides compatible with the HTML5 format. It is based on animations and is compatible with Google Double Click. In it we will find a small collection of themes and transition effects to choose from. All our creations can be exported to other web formats such as HTML5 or Javascript.
The slideshow timeline is displayed at the bottom of the screen, allowing you to preview selected images and transitions, providing some types of transitions such as cleaning, tiling, blinds, and expansion. However, it has some drawbacks as it is only in English. When you create your account, you only allow us to save a presentation, so it will be necessary to contract some of your plans in case you want to make more presentations.
HTML5 Maker is an online application that we can use by accessing its web page . It has a trial period of 14 days, and we must contract one of its pricing plans to be able to use it permanently.
Animatron Studio, create all kinds of animations online
This is an online animation creation application that includes a wide variety of animated characters, scenes and infographics, as well as icons and graphic elements. With it we can create animation videos with presets of different sizes such as banner, rectangle, or panorama for any idea we have in mind. Each of its elements has its own menu through which we can change the size, scale, change the fill and color of the text, among other aspects.
With this tool we can create timeline animations with videos, sounds, images, people, backgrounds and scenes, as well as different digital elements that we can use. Once our creation is finished, we can export the final result as HTML5, GIF or another video format.
If we want to try Animatron Studio we can access a free plan by entering its official website , which can help us to test the product.
Google Web Designer
It is a program developed by Google to create interactive HMTL5 websites, as well as all kinds of advertisements. It has text tools, capable of integrating with Google Web Fonts. As well as common design tools, pencil and 3D shapes, with which we can animate objects in a timeline. Through its code list we can create CSS, JavaScript and XML, using the functions of highlighting syntax and autocomplete the code, so that it is easier for us to write, as well as reducing errors.
We can use the animations and interactive elements to get a more creative vision of our website. It offers full compatibility and integration with other Google products such as Drive, Display and Ads. It has the possibility of being able to adapt our results to all types of screen sizes and publish the final result in both HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript.
Google Web Desinger is a free application that we can download from here.
Edge Animate CC, Adobe’s tool for HTML5
It is a tool developed by Adobe System for creating websites, using HTML5, JavaScript and CSS3 functions. With it, we can create and design interactive animations and give life to both our drawings and banners. It will be possible to create content that is compatible with mobile devices and televisions, being possible to export our animations to various platforms such as HTML5 Canvas, WebGL and custom platforms such as SVG.
This software has a wide range of tools to choose from for both drawing and graphic editing. This will allow users to carry out all our creative vision in the most interactive way. The animations are made through the Timeline and the Motion Editor, which will allow us to design natural movements for both objects and characters.
We can download a free trial version of Edge Animate CC from this link . If we want to use it permanently we must pay a monthly fee of 24.19 euros.
TweenJS, create property and objects in HTML5 and JavaScript
We are a simple interpolation library with which we can easily use JavaScript, which has been developed so that it can be integrated with the EaselJS library (also working independently), with which we can interpolate and animate properties in both HTML5 and JavaScript. This application supports interpolation of both properties, numeric objects and CCS style properties. It has an API that can be considered simple, but at the same time very powerful. Through it we can create complex interpolation creations, using command chaining.
Have a familiar approach to developers, so that they can easily adapt to the way they work. It offers property support for CSS, can apply ease and delay, as well as multiple tweens sequences. Its main drawback is that its last update dates from 2018.
We can download TweenJS for free from here.
Creatopy, animation tool with more than 1000 templates
This is an HTML5 animation tool specially aimed at creating animated advertisements quickly. We have the help of more than 1000 banner templates that will help us create our own designs. We can make all kinds of transitions and smooth effects in HTML5 with which to create dynamic and animated visual elements
It has an advanced HTML5 editor along with all kinds of tools such as a complex timeline and a dynamic slide management system. To be able to carry out work with maximum fluidity, it has an intuitive interface for the user. In addition, it has 32 preset configurations that will help us with the animation process of any design.
We can start a free trial subscription to Creatopy from this link .
