Flash Embed Widgets or Javascript Based Widgets ?

Newsvine CEO Mike Davidson analyses why widgets slow down websites and what steps can be take to ensure that widgets have minimal effect on website loading times. He also discusses the two popular methods used to deploy widgets on webpages - Flash (swf) embedding or JavaScript embedding:

Raw embedding usually involves providing a chunk of object/embed code to display a Flash widget inline. The advantage of this method is that it works in environments like MySpace which don’t allow the use of javascript. The disadvantages are that a) many people don’t like placing raw Flash code in their pages, b) some widgets aren’t Flash-based, and c) the widget author can’t change much after the fact since the widget’s code is more or less set in stone.

Javascript embedding involves using a script include to remotely deploy code into the user’s site. The advantage is that it’s much cleaner and more flexible. The disadvantage is that it slows sites down a little every time and a lot when there are problems. Link

[tags]widgets[/tags]