There’s no easier way to ensure that your website won’t bag you a return on your initial investment than having the whole thing designed and built in Flash.

Three Top Reasons Why Flash Websites are a Really Bad Idea

1) Google thinks you’re building an invisible site

Let’s face it. If your site isn’t ranking well on Google, you’re not going to do much business through it. So you need to create an SEO-friendly web design that the search engines like. And the search engines don’t like Flash.  They don’t just dislike it, they can’t even read it. Any text or information displayed through Flash might as well not even be there. And guess what? Google isn’t going to put a site that it can’t read at the top of a search engine results page.

And if you’re not ranking on Google, just how are your customers going to find you?

2) Customers might not be able to see your site

It’s not just the search engines that have trouble seeing Flash websites. Some of your customers do too. To see a Flash website properly, you need a browser that supports Flash, backed up by the correct Flash plugin. And straight away, that rules out the majority of mobile customers. iPads and iPhones don’t support Flash at all, and they’re forming an ever-increasing section of the online market.

So why are you spending money on something that a selection of potential paying customers can’t even see?

3) Flash websites just aren’t usable – for visitors or businesses

Every visit to this blog is noted. We can see what you read, how long you spent reading it, and whether or not you went on to read something else. If the site was built in Flash, we’d only know that you dropped in. That’s because analytics software isn’t compatible with Flash websites, robbing you of the ability to see how visitors respond to your site and products.

And it’s not just analytics that have trouble with Flash. Navigating through a Flash website is much more difficult and cumbersome than using other types of navigation. You see long loading times, hard-to-use interfaces and the inability to use things like the back button. When your customers see these things, they leave.

And you don’t want your customers to leave your website without buying anything, do you?

So how should I build my website?

Don’t use Flash. There are many other ways to build a website, all of which are more attractive to the search engines, and less irritating for your customers. If you choose to build an SEO-friendly website without the use of Flash, then you can expect to see better search engine rankings, more visitors and, most importantly, more sales.

By steering clear of Flash, you’ll recieve a real return on your web design investment. So make sure you think carefully about how your new website will be built.

For more SEO and Web Design advice, follow FirstFound on Twitter.

Running from the 18th to the 24th of October, the Get Online week initiative is aimed at showing the elderly and less well off how much money can be saved by doing business online. Recent research suggests that user save more than £100 by making purchases online instead of on the high street. Socialising online is also important, so users will be taught the basics of sites like Facebook and Twitter.

As you can imagine, this is going to provide huge new opportunities for businesses, so if you don’t already have a web presence, you need to start now. A professional SEO-friendly website is the best way to begin, and will help get you noticed by the millions of new users.

If your company is already online, you need to make sure that everyone can see you! If you’re looking for instant visibility, why not request a free AdWords Audit? Or call FirstFound’s SEO experts on 0161 909 3400.

The official release has described the new site as easier to use, as it places more focus on important stories and makes it simpler for users to share articles through social media.

Which is all well and good, but we wanted some professional feedback on the new design. So we asked FirstFound and Leven Internet crayoner-in-chief (he prefers “Designer” or “Web Design Project Manager“) Adam Ramsden for his thoughts:

It’s average. I think they’ve gone back in time with it. It looks like their old site a bit, and I’m not sure why they’ve done it. They’ve integrated social media, but that’s about it.

I’d go back, but in a month’s time, everyone will be used to this. Like the last Facebook redesign.

His sidekick, website developer David Smythe, had this to say:

It doesn’t look like the BBC site. It used to be distinct. There are some positives though. There’s more room for content. With more white space, it’s easier to read. I’m not convinced about the bigger video player though.

The personalised news box is a bit too low down too. It’s a great feature, but people will miss it.

Let us know what you think of the new Beeb site in the comments section.

SEO Friendly Websites - Leven Internet

Over the past few weeks, our web design and development team have been working hard on a new offering – SEO friendly websites. Now, after much tweaking and fine tuning, we’re finally proud to announce the new offering from Leven Consultants & FirstFound…

Drum roll please!

SEO Friendly Websites from Leven Internet

We’ve started by designing all of Leven’s websites with SEO in mind. There won’t be any stumbling blocks to stop the search engine spiders from completely crawling, indexing and ranking the websites we produce. That’s not just good news for search engine consultants, it’s good news for businesses too.

To begin with, we’ll be offering two main products:

SEO Friendly Website Templates

Our starter website package consists of a three page search engine friendly site, a free domain name, ten email addresses and one year’s free hosting. Everything a small business needs to get things started on the web. Just pick from one of our eye-catching templates, and we’ll make sure it all ties in with your company’s branding.

Our business website package gives companies a little more room to grow. Six pages, 20 email addresses and free hosting for the first year. We’ll still register that domain name for free, and you’ll get the same professional standards of design and coding.

Of course, we know that you can’t adopt a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to a business’ online profile, which is why we’ll also be offering custom built websites.

Bespoke SEO Friendly Websites

If you’re looking for a little more bang for your buck, our design team will be more than happy to build something that’s tailored to your every whim. CMS Systems, ecommerce packages – if you want it, Leven Internet will deliver.

 So if your website’s looking a bit tired or outdated, head on over to Leven Internet now. We’re certain that you’ll like what you see!