Flash on Home page? Advice needed

[Kal]

Hi,

I'm having my site upgraded by the company that I'm currently with. For cost reasons I have chosen just to have a new template. If I have rotating images only on the homepage using Flash will this cause a problem with SEO? With the site that I currently have I've managed to get on pages 1 or 2 for most of my search terms for Google UK pages and I don't want to jepardise this. Could anyone advise please!

Best wishes,

Kal

[Calibre Designs]

Why not have an animated/rotating GIF banners?

Wouldn't recommend Flash for seo purposes although small flash banners should be ok.

All depends on how you execute the task.

[awebapart.com]

I'm having my site upgraded by the company that I'm currently with. For cost reasons I have chosen just to have a new template. If I have rotating images only on the homepage using Flash will this cause a problem with SEO? With the site that I currently have I've managed to get on pages 1 or 2 for most of my search terms for Google UK pages and I don't want to jepardise this.
Generally, adding the odd flash element to a page shouldn't hurt if done correctly. What can be more of an issue is what the Flash is replacing, and what you might be taking out. For instance if you are replacing your top banner graphic, then less of an issue, if you are replacing your html menu system then more of an issue. Either way, if done correctly, with alternative code for non-flash browsers (and search engines), impact can be minimised.

It is also possible to have rotating images using javascript, CSS etc.

[dave_n]

agree with both guys above.....i would suggest flash as the last option behind animated gifs or javascript.
If it has to be flash then there are methods of embedding some meta data inside the file...but google doesn't appreciate flash

[edmondscommerce]

In my opinion I can't see there is much between some flash and some images.. neither are particularly useful for SEO but are there to make the site look nice.

What you can do in both circumstances is bury the relevant code at the bottom of the source code and use CSS positioning to place it on the page. This way the spider sees all your keyword rich text first which is whats most important

[Kal]

Thankyou very much for taking the trouble to reply, all your answers have been very useful!

Best wishes,

Kal

[nass]

Hi Kal,

Could you show us a mockup of the homepage? I'd rather see it first to judge if it'll cause you issues. There are various factors to consider regarding this proposed Flash and nobody can possibly give you an accurate answer without seeing it.

[Kal]

Hi,

I'm a bit dubious about putting up a link to the new template as things are not going as smoothly as expected...Trouble is, I've paid my money!

Best wishes,

Kal

[awebapart.com]

There are various factors to consider regarding this proposed Flash and nobody can possibly give you an accurate answer without seeing it.
Nobody here has given a yes or no answer for Kal's particular circumstances, the advice has been general in nature with provisos, and that's exactly how it should be taken.

Could you show us a mockup of the homepage? I'd rather see it first to judge if it'll cause you issues.
I'm a bit dubious about putting up a link to the new template
Placing a link in this thread to a new prototype of your website is one sure fire way of messing up your rankings. If you really want to do this, you should do it in the Private Review My Website area of this forum.

[nass]

You're kidding right? If they're a half decent developer they'd be doing this on a development URL - and who cares about ranking for that?

And, I always find it better to see the technical issue in question. Simply put, it's my experience that html and web dev consumers don't always accurately describe things... hence opinions could be being given on incomplete information :)

[awebapart.com]

You're kidding right? If they're a half decent developer they'd be doing this on a development URL - and who cares about ranking for that?
If a new prototype website on a separate development URL gets indexed, when that new prototype eventually gets released to live, search engines will not think "great this live website has been improved", they will think "oh dear this live website, has copied some other website I've indexed".

Hopefully the developers will prevent the prototype site being indexed, but we cannot count on that.

[movietub]

I have a small flash movie on my main site, it just rolls through a number of popular brand names and helps visitors immediatly realise that we sell big brand products 'at low, low prices!' - sorry

So for us its a very useful visual prompt and I can't imagine that we could do the same as neatly with java script or gifs.

I would have thought that potentially too much animated content is always a problem for google SEO due to the fact it could mean a lot of advertising etc rather than content - not what Google like to see.

I have seen no evidence that the small flash we use has upset the balance. It's there to convey a message that I think is worthwhile so I won't be changing it and I wouldnt worry about it if I were you.

More of a question to ask is whether the flash is nessecary in your case - gimmicky flash can be a site killer.

[nass]

If a new prototype website on a separate development URL gets indexed, when that new prototype eventually gets released to live, search engines will not think "great this live website has been improved", they will think "oh dear this live website, has copied some other website I've indexed".

Hopefully the developers will prevent the prototype site being indexed, but we cannot count on that.

Yeah, fair point

[edmondscommerce]

recommend simply password protecting the dev site will keep out any search engines

its easy enough to set up in cpanel etc