Nov
19
Written by:
Project Complete
11/19/2009 4:51 PM
Our tag line is "delivering your message with impact." We think it's a good way to let you know that you only have a few seconds to capture the attention of your audience, whether it's on the web or in print, so we know that whatever you produce, it has to be catchy. On the web, one good way to grab attention is with Flash, that animated movement of some object or objects on a page that draw the visitor's attention and make them want to stay and find out more. It adds sparkle. It adds pizzazz. It's just downright impressive. But you might want to keep a few pointers in mind when considering the use of Flash on your website.
Many people who have websites want Flash because it's cool, but if your company needs to be found and ranked high among the search engines, you might want to limit the use of Flash. Search engines are unable to "read" Flash sites. Although Google is working on increased crawling support for Flash sites, the word in the industry is that it's still best to avoid an all-Flash site. That's not to say that the judicious use of Flash is a bad thing. You might have an eye-catching moving logo, or some attractive panning photos of your work. Just make sure that you have the meta tags and keywords in the text of the site so the web crawlers can find you.
Flash sites also don't use accepted usability standards and can be problematic when trying to navigate the site, copy information (such as contact information), changing the font size for better readability, or bookmarking a page. It also is not always compatible cross-platform, and if the latest version is not on the user's computer may not work correctly. Downloading time may be a turnoff to some potential visitors just because they don't want to wait around for the "show." Just some things to keep in mind...
However, there are certain companies, such as those in the entertainment industry, where Flash should be a heavy consideration. Then you want all the razzle-dazzle you can get to deliver your message with impact!