The Truth About Flash Websites

DaleKing

Not too long ago Flash websites were all the rage. They looked really cool, and brought interactivity and animation to previously unseen heights.
However, from an SEO standpoint, Flash websites are simply not a good idea. Why?Four reasons:1. Search engines are not able to index text or content within a Flash file, because all of the text is held within a file that requires a flash reader to view it. In addition, screen readers and voice browsers are not able to read the text. 2. Its been proven that lots of relevant content on your website will improve your rankings with the search engines. However, Flash sites are very limited regarding the amount of content you can have because the text has to fit within the size of the file that`s been created. 3. Even with broadband, Flash sites can take a long time to load all of its elements...meaning you run the risk of losing prospects who are surfing the Internet for information, who won`t wait for your site to open. They`ll just click out of your site move on to another site where they don`t have to wait. 4. Visitors to your site are required to have the correct Flash player installed to view your site. The problem is, technology changes quickly on the Internet and if your Flash site was created with the latest version, then visitors have to wait for the download before they can begin searching your site for information. This is a major hassle for many visitors. Remember, on the Internet, speed is everything!
 
5. Flash files are hard to update, and if you change your website regularly, it can get expensive to keep it updated, so Flash is not very cost effective. In closing, while Flash may look fantastic and can admittedly add a lot to any presentation, in my opinion, from an accessibility and SEO standpoint, it should be used very sparingly and only for non-crucial content.
 
Dale KingDKing2007-6-14 19:45:53

oleg

3. is a great point!
I don`t know if anybody else does this, but when I go to a website and the first thing I see is a Flash "loading intro" message, I will immediately leave the site and go somewhere else. 
If you do chose to have a Flash movie intro on your site,  a very obvious skip intro link is absolutely necessary. 

vwebworld

Well the use of flash has increased over the years and some big name brands have all flash websites. If and how you use flash in your website can  certainly impact your viewers/audience. So, you need to understand your target audience before deciding to use flash and determining how to use it.
Here are some points about using flash in your website. Your website is for your viewer.
~Roland

DaleKing

Thanks for that information tikki50.
I just learned something about Flash I didn`t know
And you`re right about Flash files being hard to update. I had forgotten all about that one.
I think I`ll add that as reason #5.
Thanks again, tikki50.
Dale KingDKing2007-6-14 19:47:45

DaleKing

I agree. With some people having a flash site is almost like an obsession. They feel like they just have to have it.
Dale King

oleg

I never understood the obsession with Flash either. Are moving images on a website really that cool?  Are they even necessary?
Most things that can be accomplished with Flash can be done just as well in HTML, and will result in a more user-friendly experienc.

sooon

hi guys,this is quite a debate. nice one!i have my take though. i used Flash for 5 years. one thing i always discourage my client to do, Intro, that is so meaningless.with the previous point, I disagree with the fact flash is heavy. from my experience, I keep all my flash + html file below 50k. so more of the time, my total site was only less than 100k, which splited into like 5 to 6 swf, which make it load very fast. Hence, I seldom use preloader in my flash.for Flash Player issue, this is even more interesting. I realised that Adobe have new strategy on deploy the latest Flash Player 9. it used to be the player was deploy together with the software, say Flash Player6 was only available together with Flash MX software. but, for FP9, it was available for download 1 year before the Flash CS3 was launched recently. which means recently, when Adobe launched FCS3, they start to tell developer that already 90+% of web browser already added FP9. and that is good news.because you can use Flash with XML, I think is just the matters of planning that make Flash easily update-able. I create a dynamic swf that read xml to update my interface, so everytime i have new link, I just upload the file and update the detail in my XML(which is just copy paste and all text based) then wala! done.But one serious issue currently is SEO, which I agree with everybody that is almost impossible to make it happen compare with simple html. But I think Adobe is working hard on this, because they are loosing their grib to Ajax and other web 2.0 runtime.my 2 cents.

Ziyapathan0143

Each rising innovation era appears to bring about a clash of stages and philosophies – a war between organizations for the hearts, psyches, dollars and faithfulness of buyers for their arrangement of decision. Recollections of Microsoft's Internet Explorer at last getting the deadly hit to Netscape, or Google's fleeting ascent to control over Yahoo (and the world), are presently however commentaries in the historical backdrop of humanities mechanical upheaval. In any case, no sooner are they overlooked are we plunked into the center of another war – maybe the most horrible yet, and the one that may simply have the most effect on our day by day lives. It's the skirmish of Apple versus Adobe and the eventual fate of versatile intelligence.