FLASH Site 80% complete - your valued opinions required

[carey,brandin]

Re: FLASH Site 80% complete - your valued opinions required

it looks great now. although you might want to consider bringing up the size of the font. it is really hard to read.

brandin

[Aliens Anonymous]

Re: FLASH Site 80% complete - your valued opinions required

Don't adjust the size of the text before you have redone the movie size width and height. because as you have seen when you reduced the size the text shrank to fit. if you in crease the width and height the text will also increase.
first address the size of the movie swf the size of the text will reassign it's self larger as you go, then once you have it centered and the height may be 700 0r 800 the if then the text is still hard to read same change it but i think once you have changed the height and centered you will find it better

[Bethers]

Re: FLASH Site 80% complete - your valued opinions required

Just a comment - your website is called webdesign - and flash, while it has some great uses, is not a good for most webdesign as it will not be seen properly by search engines (or many people).

Make sure you are targetting a side of the web that doesn't and isn't going to need the search engines to send traffic (unless it's via some sort of advertising).

[Vasili]

Re: FLASH Site 80% complete - your valued opinions required

Just a comment - your website is called webdesign - and flash, while it has some great uses, is not a good for most webdesign as it will not be seen properly by search engines (or many people).
Make sure you are targetting a side of the web that doesn't and isn't going to need the search engines to send traffic (unless it's via some sort of advertising).

Coming from our resident "SEO Guru" I am flabbergasted that you would make such a comment, Beth!

Flash (ColdFusion, Swish, Java, and especially Dreamweaver) created websites produce amazing visual dynamics that make websites sizzle, to be sure, but they too need to be optimized for optimal performance!
There is a lot that can be done to clean up code, inserting meta and Alt info, managing Key Words and Content relevance and other commonly discussed elements of SEO in Flash.....since it is rarely done, it is obvious where this erroneous conclusion comes from!

Similar to how Blue Voda *******tes metrics in CSS and HTML, it is a common practice to create and publish HTML files as a means of "ghosting" data for proper caching and "ranking" (if you will) by the SE's, thereby not diminishing optimal results merely by using Flash, Swish, or any other dynamic code. As this can be a laborious and exacting practice, it explains why the majority of such sites are not truly optimized, and why the fees for professional optimization are seeming more than commonly understood.

In every "constructed" website (via a template, carts, forums, turn-key, or other foundation) the perponderance for sloppy coding and persistent errors and useless code that should have been deleted and not left to stand is so prevalent that this optimization process needs be performed to even achieve minimal acceptance! The one area that typically poses the most problems is actually links, and how they were set up via code: most of the time the page structure itself is not compliant, and less than perfect links and linking strategies thwart a basic Se review process. Another common practice is "overwriting" code, which unlike BV does not replace one item with another, but actually leaves previous coding present but simply tries to insert additional code with a command or structure that is "more important" by means of action commands, thus causing confusion (and dysfunction for visitors) to the SE's as they try to follow the logical string. When I mention "sloppy code" I refer to numerous areas of concern that should be addressed and "cleaned up" and remind this practice to be applied even to our Forums, carts, and other "pre-constructed" technologies we mistakenly assume are perfected!

Blue Voda is the superlative web building tool in use today, but manipulating the different layout aspects ("bring to front", add this last, etc.) and properly completing elements of design (Meta, Key Words, description, etc.) according to our defined "checklist" is the best that can be done to make our BV websites "SEO-prepared" but should not be considered "optimized"! In all honesty, this is a confusion between optimized construction and the process of optimizing "net validation" and SE compliance. Below are handy references to learn more about the issues I've commented on, chosen for their "readability" and clarity.

Specific Flash Optimization Techniques (Whitepaper)
More on True Optimization Practices (Article + W3C Validation Info)



Your post above made me conclude that it is time this be brought out into the open so everyone can properly understand the fine details that they are so preoccupied with and never fully quite understand. Don't you agree?

[Bethers]

Re: FLASH Site 80% complete - your valued opinions required

I did not say to not use flash, I said to be careful is using it and didn't phrase myself correctly.

I apologize.

Flash needs to be optimized completely differently than other sites - and it's important to know this and do so - or you will fall into the factors that it cannot be seen.

I happen to like this article on optimizing for flash and I should have given it before: How to SEO Flash

Thank you Vasilli for posting. I agree with all you say.

I will stand by my belief that for most sites today, especially people doing their own work and own SEO, they need to use flash very carefully.

[Aliens Anonymous]

Re: FLASH Site 80% complete - your valued opinions required

First there was black and white tv then there was colour, then teltex, then flat screen, lcd, ******, and digital and now HD tv, technology moves on faster and faster these day, google and other search engines will catch up one day, same as why does everyone build and is advised to build sites that conform to 800 wide , when scents the introduction of usb and Ethernet the average monitor is is 18inch 80% of internet users use larger monitors. Why because were told too, blaaar

[Aliens Anonymous]

Re: FLASH Site 80% complete - your valued opinions required

Just as a after thought if people rely on google and others, people with iframes on the site are bo####ed

[Vasili]

Re: FLASH Site 80% complete - your valued opinions required

LOL!
I can't figure out the "iFrame" comment, Alien! Wished I could....I need a laugh about now!


I am stuck with iFrame use until I can find enough energy to convert my sites to php......so until I can figure out your "observation" above, I don't know if I should look forward to smiling in agreement or hang my head in embarrassment!
PS: That "email package" will be arriving today as promised!

(Beth: No problem, kiddo! Page has been turned and we're still friends!)

[Aliens Anonymous]

Re: FLASH Site 80% complete - your valued opinions required

if google brings the veiwer to the page within the iframe the effect of having the iframe is lost.


No problem will sort it

[Bethers]

Re: FLASH Site 80% complete - your valued opinions required

Vasili, I'm glad you commented as you did - cuz I shouldn't ever make a blanket statement like I did - but, unfortunately, most of the sites I see using flash haven't spent any time considering how everyone will see it - as you and I both keep trying to say - people have to do their homework.

Aliens, the 800 width is very important if people don't want to alienate - especially in certain types of sites - but, yes, it can be worked around - to a degree. I'm sure I lose a little business by going about 1000 wide - but I also designed my 1000 wide pages to accommodate those who only have 800 wide. And, the size of your monitor has NOTHING to do with what the resolution that monitor is set to.

Vasili, I think I put an extra l in your name in post above - slap me silly!

[lyndataylor@bellsouth.net]

Re: FLASH Site 80% complete - your valued opinions required

I have to agree with the other comments that the text is much, much too small. Also (and this is just my opinion) I didn't care for the music in the background. The design was excellent, but feel that more color on a lighter background would make it easier to read also.
Lynda
www.thevirtualword.com

[kenb]

Re: FLASH Site 80% complete - your valued opinions required

After looking at your site, I started searching other posts but realized that the background music was still on. And this is after looking at three more posts. I had to exit IE to cut it off???

[Collectors-info]

Re: FLASH Site 80% complete - your valued opinions required

Ditto with others! Looks nice, but the text feels like it is sized at about NO:2.

Good luck

[Cheap Television]

Re: FLASH Site 80% complete - your valued opinions required

Sorry man but I can't read anything as it is tiny!

Design is pretty average for a flash site and you said you brought the flash template but are using the site as a way to advertise as a webdesigner? I don't get it!!!

As for flash being the future I doubt it, I used to think that back when I would spend ages creating eye candy, but content is king is the world wide web. A combination of html and flash is the best of both worlds though in my opinion.

[webb and romic]

Re: FLASH Site 80% complete - your valued opinions required

I have read all the comments on your posting and I have to say that for me the site is not a good advertisment for someone who is going to be doing web design. I think the best way for you is to make in clear clean and have a good graphic content as most people do not bother with flash as it takes to long to load and becomes very annoying after a while. I alwys skip flash intros. I go to a site to be informed. i thin maybe you should have a secion for flash intros flash sites etc. but keep the main body of the pages simple and use high quality graphics. as to be honest i would be scared to use your company for web design if i saw your own site not working how it should.
I hope I did not offend but i just wanted to be honest and state what i thought. there is alot of competition out there for your service so you need to have something that will give a positive and professional signal.
thanks james