The Joys of Using Flash

[Grahame Case]

Don't get me wrong, i build lots of websites,

but i always tend to use Flash, and Google doesn't like it too much.

The makes it rather difficult to promote your business and get your website seeded/ page ranked.

I wonder if some of you could have a look at my website and tell me if it is worth the hassle of having a flash website because it looks good or if i should chuck it in the bin and start again.

if you could suggest any tweaks i could make it would also be welcome - some of the text isn't right, i need to rewrite it

http://www.mohawkmobiledisco.co.uk

look forward to some criticism!

[Jiggles]

PHP/HTML Some company's block flash from working. That could be a problem for some.

[discomobiledj]

Google's not going to like you!

What about making a standard version of your site and giving visitors the option of static or flash?

[Marc J]

As others have said (and you alread know) an all Flash site is bad both from an SEO point of view and the fact that some visitors might not even be able to view it at all.

Keep Flash for eye candy, non critical parts of your site, and use something like swfobject (http://code.google.com/p/swfobject/) to make sure it is replaced with meaningful content for visitors unable to view Flash.

[Andy Westcott]

So I go to visit your nice new 'flashy' web site, but I'm greeted with a box telling me I need to download the appropriate plugin...

Not good.

Don't build a website that relies on flash - it's bad practice.

[Shaun]

I agree with all the comments about using flash. It'll hinder you business more than it'll help it.

[rob1963]

With all due respect, your site has one of the things I find really annoying.

You go to a website, but either have to wait 10 or 15 seconds before the home page appears or have to manually click on a "skip intro" button.

When I go to a website, I want to see the home page right away.

[Grahame Case]

With all due respect, your site has one of the things I find really annoying.

You go to a website, but either have to wait 10 or 15 seconds before the home page appears or have to manually click on a "skip intro" button.

When I go to a website, I want to see the home page right away.

I only put that in last night Rob, can easily disappear, i thought it would help with Google following through another page before it gets into the website.

[rob1963]

I only put that in last night Rob, can easily disappear, i thought it would help with Google following through another page before it gets into the website.

I guess you need to get a few more opinions before making any decisions.

Other people might not have the same problem with it that I do.

:shrug:

[Grahame Case]

yup, time to do it i think. break away from flash - will need to spend a bit of time building my new site in the background - will need a lot more content as a result, but hey ho :)

probably use a content management system rather than php/html - so i can edit it on the move/from work

[Jiggles]

A CMS is PHP/HTML :D

[Grahame Case]

A CMS is PHP/HTML :D

yes fair point, but it is slightly better using wysiwyg to do it rather than say notepad, or frontpage which is not so good with CSS

[Corabar Steve]

I guess you need to get a few more opinions before making any decisions.

Other people might not have the same problem with it that I do.

:shrug:

I think you'll find most people actually agree with you on this one Rob

[Andy Westcott]

yes fair point, but it is slightly better using wysiwyg to do it rather than say notepad, or frontpage which is not so good with CSS

What's wrong with Notepad?
As HTML and CSS is plain text, Notepad is ideal for the job.

As for wysiwyg programs, have you ever looked at the code they generate?? Some are absolutely terrible, and leave orphaned/abandoned elements scattered throughout the page where for example you may have chosen a font size, then changed your mind, leaving the unused opening and closing tags still there. And yes, some still use the <font> tag...

Frontpage is even worse - please don't compare it with a plain text editor - Frontpage is a joke hurled at the masses.

[Grahame Case]

flash website is going in the bin - will keep it up for the time being while I add content and structure to my new website.