Flash?

[Hammer]

There are a few issues.

All flash sites, have zero chance at search engine traffic.

Flash navigation can be a problem if the surfer doesn't have Flash intalled or the browsers to something wacky that makes them stop working like IE just did because of Eolas patent case. http://www.webtechsig.org/Presentations/eolas.html

Due to the Eolas patent case , a new update to Internet Explorer will no longer automatically allow user interaction with plugins which are embeded in webpages. Think Flash navigation, music players (Quicktime, Windows Media, Real Audio), Java applets, etc. The applets will be usable, but only once you enable them, usually by clicking on them.

Lots of surfers don't like it and for those on dial up it's almost useless.

There are some things to be said for Flash because properly done it can add something to a website and using Flash for video clips works very well. However, I think for the average webmaster the cons outweigh the pros.

[Toby]

Originally Posted by Hammer

...All flash sites, have zero chance at search engine traffic...

Not entirely true. If text within Flash is coded properly, Google's spiders can read it.

That said, I would agree that an all Flash site is probably not a great idea, but expeditious use of Flash animation to enhance a tour shouldn't have any more of a negative effect on search optimization than using animated gif images.

[Hammer]

Originally Posted by Toby

That said, I would agree that an all Flash site is probably not a great idea, but expeditious use of Flash animation to enhance a tour shouldn't have any more of a negative effect on search optimization than using animated gif images.

Agreed, especially if it's not used as part of the way to navigate the site.