100% Flash Site

[cercedilla]

Ok, maybe this topic could do with its own site.

I've just started in a company which employed me for my flash work. The rest of the designers are html focused. I've explained to everyone that Flash is more than animation, and shown them many examples of aS2 working with php and flash remoting. So, I suggeted doing a 100% flash site.

So far I've hit a brick wall, these guys are ganging up saying to stick with the trusted html. I know this is to do with their ignorance of backend technology and have counteracted everything they thrown at me with examples.

However, the one problem I'm having is with their insistance that Flash can't be indexed by search engines. I know this is not true, but need to show this.

Maybe this can be a thread for the 100%flash site.

Please help your bullied flash colleague.

[cercedilla]

Ok, maybe this topic could do with its own site.

I've just started in a company which employed me for my flash work. The rest of the designers are html focused. I've explained to everyone that Flash is more than animation, and shown them many examples of aS2 working with php and flash remoting. So, I suggeted doing a 100% flash site.

So far I've hit a brick wall, these guys are ganging up saying to stick with the trusted html. I know this is to do with their ignorance of backend technology and have counteracted everything they thrown at me with examples.

However, the one problem I'm having is with their insistance that Flash can't be indexed by search engines. I know this is not true, but need to show this.

Maybe this can be a thread for the 100%flash site.

Please help your bullied flash colleague.

[HeldByStarlight]

You might want to go with your colleagues on this one. or, have a flash site and a non flash site. you can have it so that the search engines reference the intro page where the web surfer will choose flash or non flash.

the primary reason i say go with your colleagues because a lot of businesses are finding that all flash sites arent as accessible to their prospective consumers as traditional html based sites are. i too was frustrated by this, but conceded and did both for my organization so that those who wanted to be wowed could do so. don't give up though, flash will continue to become more and more accesible.

[grayhalo]

I agree with HeldByStarlight. It really depends on the purpose of the site. My design partner and I are currently doing an all-Flash site for a client (leveraging AMFPHP and MySQL for remoting) but the client is in the entertainment industry and looking for a vanity site. When we explained the limitations to them (lack of proper indexability by search engines, requirement that users must have the plugin etc) they were unconcerned about it, and really wanted something with a level of pizzazz that couldn't be afforded by an html-based site. So... It makes sense for them. That said, I think they're the exception rather than the rule.

[cercedilla]

Guys, thanks for your comments. But I know that indexing is posible. I need an example.

[grayhalo]

by default most search engines don't look too deep (if at all) into swf files. so it's difficult. the best way is probably detecting the browser (spider) with a little bit of php scripting and then diverting it to something that it can index properly. check out this article: http://webmonkey.wired.com/webmonkey/04/44/index4a.html

[cercedilla]

Thanks for that grayhalo. The only thing is that i've heard the robots don't like to be cookied, and so go away when you try this. Surely something as simple as placing html text in the html placeholder that holds the flash should work? In otherwords, having html text the same colour as the background colour, which replicates whats in the swf. Could this work?

[Addy]

Hi, as i understand it, you can write hidden text in HTML/HTML. The bot will read everything on a HTML/HTM page, but wont understand code. once it picks a word, it will check the relevance with the title, keyword, description, and will do so each time with text. example:


[header]
[title]
[description]
[keywords]

// hidden text//
//flash holder//



The bot will read the text and rank accordingly each relevant word.

Think its only fair to point out that i am doing this... as a trail, the results look very promising. However with the new HLI (Human Language Interface) bots you need to make sure the text has a reason for being there... and not lots of words (keywords) trying to make a sentence.

[CyanBlue]

I think the best way of handling this would be creating a Flash site and HTML site at the same time... You don't have to use the HTML site if you don't want to... The HTML site can only be existing for the search engine spiders... But, it's always a good idea to provide an alternative for other people... ;)

[jrk_productions]

just make a index.html page that contains hidden text and then direct the user to the flash page from there(automaticly)

Simple & clean

[Addy]

just make a index.html page that contains hidden text and then direct the user to the flash page from there(automatically)

Simple & clean


you would not have to direct them at all. As the flash execute is in the htm anyways, the spider has no choice but to read it. but you need the code to start flash.. ie:


bla bla


to be below the hidden text, it seems that the bot wont understand the text within an object, so will prob dismiss it all and bugger off to another site. (this I am still working on.... results not that clear)

as i said above thou... the hidden text must have relevance to the title, keywords and description :)