HTML-Based Design
The most commonly used design technology is HTML or hypertext markup language. While it was never intended to be used for the complex web sites we see today, it still forms the backbone of almost every web page on the internet. The relative ease of use makes HTML great for all stages of design and development as well as for maintenance and updating.
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Hybrid Design
As you may have guessed, it's also possible to include some Flash elements in a standard HTML-based web site. The most common use of Flash is in the site's introduction, which often takes the form of a movie, highlighting different aspects of the company or organization. Once the introduction is completed, users move on to the main, HTML-based pages.
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Flash-Based Design
One type of site that is increasing in popularity are those created with Flash. This is a type of web animation which can produce web sites with a look and feel that is more like that of a video game or interactive movie than of a typical web site. The advantage of such a site is that surfers are often drawn to them by word of mouth. These sites often create an "experience" which can convey thoughts and ideas that are not easily put into words.

Some drawbacks to Flash design are that they can be difficult and time consuming to update or edit and, while they might look "cool", they don't always contain concrete information that people go to web sites looking for.
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View an example of a site introduction created in Flash
Example Introduction