Do you think it is good to have a website with images that needed Adobe Flash to run? I think its simply dull having a website that has no flash images. Or would alternative images, like .gif images, are already enough?

using flash just to display images(what your question implies), is probably not a good idea.

it looks prfessional but mostly not user friendly. personally, I don't like flash sites... prefer css as always

Well Flash has it's place obviously, but to use it simply to display images would be a waste of Flash, when you could simply just display the images without Flash.

Now if you're creating a useful animation, then it would be different.

The usage of Flash for making sites is an individual factor, so each person should decide whether it is better to create a site with Flash or it is more simple to have a site without all this stuff.

Does anybody know a person or a company which makes a good design of websites and the prices for this are rather suitable?

Flash does not give a very professional look in my oppinion, its more out dated now...but thats just my oppinion

That really depends on how the designer uses it.

Have you seen the works of 2Advanced? I agree with ANMMark on it really does depend on how the designer uses flash.

CSS is better for both structure and optimzation that is somewhat lacking with flash. I think it also depends on who your designing it for too.

I agree that it also depends on who you're designing the site for.

Different types of designs attract different demographics. I actually think a hybrid site (css and flash) can get the job done very nicely.

There are some things to keep in mind though.

1. You should be at least a decent designer. Flash is all about the graphics. So if you lack in graphic design or getting your message across in graphics and text...hold off until you can. There is no CSS or HTML in Flash. So your job is purely graphics and layout. Then animation.

2. Don't use flash just for the sake of using. Make sure you have a clear idea in mind, and make sure your idea NEEDS flash. Once that is out of the way, make your idea come to life using the tools that are necessary for the job. Never use something just because it's "cool", because it's likely that your idea won't come off as cool if used for that reason.

If you do use flash, to make it W3C Vaild/Complicate try the "Twice Cooked Method". It will make flash optimized for search engines.

Honestly, I use Flash on my hosting site (http://www.millenniumhosting.net) and I don't regret that decision one bit. I actually find it quite useful to handle displaying the various promotions to potential customers. I also use it for my navigation, but it is not the sole form of navigation since there are people that can't view flash properly. I have added footer links and also links to plans to ensure that nobody is left out of being able to navigate the site easily. IF Flash is used appropriately and strategically it can definitely help out the appearance and feel of a website. If it is used in a manner that isn't thought out and utilized correctly it can hurt the feel and appearance of a website in my opinion.

If your flash is not so huge - that is always good idea to use it. But sometimes you need to wait for about 1/2 hour. And site is really cool. But that means that you have nothing to do with that site...
Flash must be as light as possible

There are ways around that too, but a lot of Flash "noobies" don't use the methods to get around it, either because they don't know of them, or because they don't care to learn how to do it.

Simply put, you can load a main flash movie, and load external flash elements into the movie seperately. This cuts down on overall load time, because something is happening.

Example comparison....

1. The main page loads...you see navigation, some graphic elements, etc.
2. once that loads, then you see a loader element in different sections while the news loads, music (if you used music), secondary "intro" animation, etc. seperately and externally.

Compare that to one big flash movie file containing all of those things in a single file. The second will be HUGE and take a while to load. The first option works more like a standard website (i.e. the page loads, then images load, etc).

The trick for the designer is learning these methods, and using them properly.

Flash is good when it adds something to the site. Generally that isn't what I find and when it isn't used right it is annoying. I liked sites that allowed you to bypass a big fancy introduction in flash if you didn't care to see it or were on dial up and didn't have all day.

you should use some weak movements if you want to use flash, it's very annoying to see more moves in a flash!