Know-How Exchange : Other

Seems it depends: https://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html

Search Engine 'spiders', look for text on your sites, if you over use flash, then it is possible you will not get a high ranking ... you remember you can always pay for a good ranking anyway!

This is a useful resource too.
https://www.searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/2200921

yes, flash gets in the way of seo: if half of surfing sessions involve search engines, that matters. Looking @ your log files will tell you how much it matters to your business.

The web's a user-driven medium, and flash is useful for some functions - particularly navigation.

It can be great, used in the right way - if you search useit.com you'll find the top result is pro flash navigation - https://useit.mondosearch.com/cgi-bin/MsmFind.exe?QUERY=flash+navigation


hth

Will Rowan

on the other hand...

... is there any reason why you can't produce a high-accessibility, low-to-no graphics edition of the site, that's easy for visually impaired visitors to use - and highly legible to search engines.

The chances are that your flash site isn't copy-heavy, so it shouldn't be difficult to produce. It might in fact carry more text information that a design-led, flash site couldn't do justice to.


Will Rowan

If the site was designed with the expectations of mass traffic and a market in which SEO is an absolute must, I agree with having 2 versions of the site, HTML and Flash. But like Andrew said, you can just buy positioning anyway if it is a major issue. I truly despise any thought of a search engine placing restrictions on my creativity and desired content.

However, if the site is only going to be viewed by a small, exclusive audience........
I have to disagree with almost every response..."christian's" in particular (no offense...just my opinion). Most refer to Falsh sites as breaking the "rules" set by "gurus" , "shaman", etc. I say: Who cares??!!!

Flash is an awesome utility that allows a site to have incredibly rich content and usability... not to mention beauty and the "cool future factor".

To say Flash is bad for such a site since it distracts away from the content is like saying all the lights, bells, whistles, and monumental hotels in Las Vegas are simply distracting people from gambling...rather it's the opposite. MANY people are getting tired of the same old, must upload within 28 secs on a 14 baud modem, websites that the old so-called "gurus" from the 80's and 90's still advocate. They are slowly becoming the "lemonade stands" of the industry.

In addition the Flash Player is just as available now a days as Internet Explorer. Besides, any savvy Flash programmer knows how to embed code and utilize actionscripts to detect and install any non-existant or out-dated Flash Players on a user's system.

Aww. It's so nice of you to be concerned about your sister.

You tell that web designer to treat your sister right.
Don't try to fool her with style, show her there's a real website behind the pretty mask.

Shame on that lame web designer. He should have done his homework and asked you if being found in the search engines was important, BEFORE they designed the site. And if they didn't know that flash can't be read by search engines, go paint a big "L" on their forehead, and spray paint their car bright pink. They're imposters.

Designing your site and content to "play nice" with the search engines is as important as knowing your market and how they buy. To ignore that fact of the game causes you to spend more than you need to in promoting the sight with paid search engine placements, not to mention the large segment of searchers who ignore paid adverts.

By the way...is your sister cute?

I sense that maybe you're looking for some ammunition to take with you when you confront the web designer in front of your team members.

This whole page is filled with great wisdom and it should be enough to convince the team that a html version that is search engine friendly be constructed. But at whose expense?

Hopefully your team won't make the typical mistake and say "we've already spent this much, let's just put it up there and see if it flies...". The Internet is already littered with so many of these websites, that many businesses have given up on the promise of the website as a valid marketing tool, because they never did it right the first time. Hopefully you'll live to make it past first base.
And please come back and tell us the URL of this website so we can check it out once it's done.

Thank you all for your information and tips. I wish I could have awarded points to everyone!! Interesting debate.

I can see both the benefits and drawbacks. Since SEO is important and we're making investments in quality content, it sounds like an HTML version of the site is needed.

Interesting to hear about your experience "5th P" with Lacroix Water. Exactly the sort of information I was looking for...thanks for sharing.

Thanks Steve for your additional comments. I had already awarded the points, but I appreciate your candid thoughts.

Oh, and of course my "sister" is cute...she's related to ME! :)