Flash and the net

[Tim]

Totally flash based sites. I run across one every once in awhile and I'm
curious as to what you all think about using so much flash on a site.

Is flash going away? Is it becoming a thing of the past?

Thanks,

Tim

[gotFusion]

They are geeky and cute but un-indexable by search engines as there is no searchable content (flash is a single file not content).

If you do not care if people can locate your site using google and other search engines you can move in this direction.

If you have valuable content or wish to attract visitors you should stay away from flash except for a few exceptions such as a slide show or something dealing with images NOT textual content.

Just my 2¢

[Adendum]

I'll second all that Mike said plus add that any iPad users will see absolutely nothing (you can thank Steve Jobs for that gem).

[franko]

Not just iPads - iPhones and most other smartphones cannot play flash movies and that is the way the web is moving. Already in Japan many more people access web sites via smart phones than by computer and that paradigm is being reproduced all over the advanced world. The desktop computer is rapdily become in obsolescent for most consumer applications.

[Tim]

Thank you all for the tips on Flash.

All good reasons for putting the brakes on Flash.

Tim

"Tim" <Tim@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:ifq44g$fhk$1@DailyPlanet.news.netobjects.com. ..
> Totally flash based sites. I run across one every once in awhile and I'm
> curious as to what you all think about using so much flash on a site.
>
> Is flash going away? Is it becoming a thing of the past?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Tim

[Max]

Google's advice on Flash is: "Note that while Google can index the
content of Flash files, other search engines may not be able to.
Therefore, we recommend that you use rich-media technologies like Flash
primarily for decorative purposes, and instead use HTML for content and
navigation. This makes your site more crawler-friendly, and also makes
it accessible to a larger audience including, for example, readers with
visual impairments that require the use of screen readers, users of old
or non-standard browsers, and users with limited or low-bandwidth
connections such as a cellphone or mobile device. An added bonus? Using
HTML for navigation will allow users to bookmark content and send direct
links in email."

source:
http://www.google.com/support/webmas...n&answer=72746

Max

----
Tim wrote:
Totally flash based sites. I run across one every once in awhile and I'm
curious as to what you all think about using so much flash on a site.

Is flash going away? Is it becoming a thing of the past?

Thanks,

Tim

[Adrian]

HI all


> use rich-media technologies like Flash primarily for _decorative purposes_

Just about sums it up!
Love it <g>

Adrian

[Tim]

Thanks for your input.

Tim

"Max" <max@domain.invalid> wrote in message
news:ig28fk$vqa$1@DailyPlanet.news.netobjects.com. ..
> Google's advice on Flash is: "Note that while Google can index the content
> of Flash files, other search engines may not be able to. Therefore, we
> recommend that you use rich-media technologies like Flash primarily for
> decorative purposes, and instead use HTML for content and navigation. This
> makes your site more crawler-friendly, and also makes it accessible to a
> larger audience including, for example, readers with visual impairments
> that require the use of screen readers, users of old or non-standard
> browsers, and users with limited or low-bandwidth connections such as a
> cellphone or mobile device. An added bonus? Using HTML for navigation will
> allow users to bookmark content and send direct links in email."
>
> source:
> http://www.google.com/support/webmas...n&answer=72746
>
> Max
>
> ----
> Tim wrote:
> Totally flash based sites. I run across one every once in awhile and I'm
> curious as to what you all think about using so much flash on a site.
>
> Is flash going away? Is it becoming a thing of the past?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Tim
>

[dove-7]

They are geeky and cute but un-indexable by search engines as there is no searchable content (flash is a single file not content).

If you do not care if people can locate your site using google and other search engines you can move in this direction.

If you have valuable content or wish to attract visitors you should stay away from flash except for a few exceptions such as a slide show or something dealing with images NOT textual content.

Just my 2¢

Yes and no. If his site is done entirely in Flash, then yes, it's not searchable. If he add the Flash elements to an html site like Dreamweaver and possibly NOF, it'll will be searchable. It's all about how he codes the html in Dreamweaver and NOF. I don't know what are the html limits/control that one has on NOF because I'm still learning this programs beyond the basics. BUT, I've done plenty of Flash and html mixed websites that show up at the very top because I coded them very good. Overall, I'm against a 100% Flash websites. Frankly, the best route to go if you want Flash like effects is Jquery.