Flash has become a big thing on the internet these days, but just because something looks and sounds amazing does not mean that it is. There are a couple of very good reasons why I discourage people from including flash in their websites. Don't be fooled by the eye catching movement, it could be a hazard that you don't realize.

The first reason why I don't encourage flash on a website is a reason that few people other than trained professional website designers and doctors think about. Seizures, believe it or not flash can cause someone prone to them to have one. People who don't have them don't think about what flashing light and fast movement can do to someone prone to seizures. Flash can be a serious risk to your visitors and your pocketbook. You might be held legally responsible for injuries if someone logs into your website and has a seizure from the flash on your site. There is an alternative to flash. Sliders give movement to the images, but it does not have as high of a risk of causing a seizure.

The other reason for not having flash on your website is SEO. Search engine optimization is not helped by flash. The reason for this is because spiders and robots from the search engines which crawl your website don't pay any attention to flash. Flash may look good, but it actually hurts your rankings in the search engines. Using sliders allows the developer to input alternate text in the coding of the slider with the images for the spiders and robots to pick up on. Flash is not content. Only text is content, and only text is picked up by the search engines. Even if there is text in your flash, that text is only an image of text. It is not actual text. When looking for a website designer make sure you find one that understands what it takes to optimize a website for the search engines.

You should take these suggestions into consideration when thinking about building a website, or having someone build one for you. The website designer you choose should be aware of these things and help you make the best choices for you and your visitors.

Don't get taken in by the look of flash. If you want your website to rank high on the search engines use alternate forms of movement for your images that allow alternate text to be encoded. When you use alternatives, you not only make it easier for your customers to find you, you make it safer for your visitors.

Author: Julie Rader
Owner and website designer at Rader Inspirations

For more information on SEO and website design visit http://www.raderinspirations.com