Flash should/shouldn't be used in ecommerce website??
Discuss Flash should/shouldn't be used in ecommerce website?? in the E-Commerce Development forum on SEO Chat. Flash should/shouldn't be used in ecommerce website?? E-Commerce Development forum discussing specific online commerce related issues, such as payment processors, SSL implementation, chargeback problems, seasonal trends, shopping carts and membership to groups such as the BBB.
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Flash should/shouldn't be used in ecommerce website??
hello
Let me knw, Is it good to use flash in the ecommerce website? if we are taking SEO into consideration..
If we use Flash, will it affect to search engine crwaler?and if it is necessary to use Flash,then what can we do for that?
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Flash is a tool. Think of it as a sledge hammer.
The question you are asking is akin to 'should contractors use sledge hammers?'
The answer is of course... sometimes. Followed by a whole set of questions about what for, when, where, etc. etc.
Flash is a tool. Sometimes it can accomplish what you want but is the wrong tool. Sometimes it is the right tool. Sometimes it is the only tool that will work. Sometimes it won't work at all. So there is no right answer to 'should flash be used on an e-commerce site'
Some things to think about with regards to flash:
* Not every browser supports flash - I am including mobile browsers here. In addition flashblock is a popular firefox plugin.
* Depending upon what you do with it flash can have load time issues. - A surprising number of people are still on dial up and flash load times annoy me on a high speed connection.
* Flash can introduce some SEO problems - This should be your last concern. Well after customer usability IMO.
In general a good guideline is to use flash only where it is required to do the job. If you can easily avoid it... do so.
An example of a time when flash is appropriate is a webapp type situation. I have no problem waiting for mini-usa to load to configure a mini and see the price. And making that app without flash (or a similar tech.) would be hell.
However if I go shopping for a knapsack and your homepage is flash I will likely abandon the site (I run flashblock). If it takes 3 seconds to load on my connection I definitely will abandon.
If I need to use flash to view the backpack in 360 with zooming and such... no problem.
Another rule of thumb.... if you need a 'skip' button (as in skip intro on some sites) you are probably doing it wrong. Make sure you do some serious examination with webmetrics before using that kind of design.
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You can use Flash for Banners or some asthetic pictures/movies. But the problem with Flash is that every page has the same url. So if you have an e-commerce site built in flash... the search engines will only be able to see your homepage! What's worse is that most people who build sites in Flash, build an intro page with a click here to enter the site button. This means Google can't see anything on your site!
Build sites in html, and use Flash only for asthetic purposes. Especially for e-commerce sites.
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Right on, I came across this site - flash2xhtml.com in an ad, it is not my site, it says Google is not indexing the flash content even when it says it is going to index the stuff, so Google lies when it says that it is indexing your flash content through 'enhanced algorithm' for crawling flash content. Flash content is not crawlable at all, for a textual search engine like Google or Yahoo. Flash content is 'alien' content to Google, it cant decipher the correct codes to index it into the search engine ecosystem, and there has been mis-information about this indexing process with people thinking they know and they know it wrong.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by johsen
...you shouldn't use flash in e commerce and other websites.
I strongly disagree. A case in point would be the 'build your own' feature on Mini USA. I disagree with their decision to make the entire site flash. Bad move in my opinion. But the build your own simply could not be as well done without flash.
The key to using flash on any website is to know your audience and use it only where appropriate. No flash intro, no annoying blinky things people don't want to see... but when flash is the right tool, by all means use it.
In general though, you should avoid using flash if it is not absolutely required. And doing an entire flash site is rarely a good choice.
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