Flash websites are visually beautiful, and can be easy to use and informative, on the face of it you could be forgiven for thinking that flash websites are therefore better, but in reality relatively the opposite is true. The main problem with using flash to create a website is the fact that search engines cannot read content that is contained in swf movie files. For that reason if your entire website is made with flash, all google will actually see is empty pages of nothing. Obviously google is not going to index a page that it sees as having no content, as there is in its eyes, nothing to index.
Additionally flash websites on the whole also have flash navigation, this poses yet another problem, google and other websites cannot read flash navigation, this means that any search engine spiders trying to index your site will have a very difficult time finding other pages, and also flash navigation that is not supported by text links will hinder the natural distribution of page rank that a standard HTML website would benefit from.
The Correct Usage Of Flash.
Even though I am a professional SEO Services provider, and am well aware of the problems that flash can cause, I still cant help but love it as a web medium, and when flash is used wisely, it is achievable to obtain the best of both worlds. By using flash only for imagery and rendering any textual content in HTML with a CSS menu, you can still pull off a stunning looking website. Also the site is now much more than a typical full flash website, its a search engine friendly website that still looks great and has the ability to rank well for valuable keywords meaning that it can also bring in business, after all thats what the site is really about at the end of the day! A website made entirely of flash is nothing more than an expensive online presentation that you either have to buy traffic for via pay per click, or that is ultimately just going to sit there unseen until you decide to modify the source code and make the above concessions. Below is a yes and no application check list for the correct usage of flash.
No.
A websites single means of navigation
Making entire websites.
Presenting textual content that contains text it would be beneficial to allow search engines to see.
Render the entire web pages content in flash.
Splash pages – (never use splash pages, they are bad for SEO and increase bounce rate)
Yes.
Presentation shows with voice over audio describing your products .
Scrolling banners, animated product images, rotational pictures with stunning graphic effects.
Producing eye catching calls to action for increasing your websites sales to traffic ratio
Embedding movie content.
If you are planning on having a new website designed and would like some advice about how best to ensure that your new website will be search engine friendly, I would advise that you seek out a web design firm who also offer SEO Services. Definitely do not authorize a website made entirely out of flash. Many SEO companies also offer great quality web design services and these agencies will be able to provide you with the best balance between aesthetics and search engine compatibility.
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