Home page has flash intro

will this delay indexing the HTML?

[fom2001uk]

A new client has a Flash intro on their homepage. The movie lasts for about 10 secs then redirects to the standard homepage (with navigation, links, etc).

There is one link on this page (skip intro) for the spiders to follow, but I'm a bit concerned if this might delay the indexing of the site. Should I put more links on the homepage, or just sit tight?

I'm also a bit worried that anyone linking to this site is going to link to the root URL, and not the first HTML page (called /home.asp). Am I being paranoid here, or will it work out fine in the end?

[fom2001uk]

I knew this would get ignored because it's in the wrong forum, guys. Please put it back in the SEP forum, where it belongs :-)

[sem4u]

I would add more links to the homepage. As for linking to the site, most people will link to the homepage. You really need to get your client to ditch the flash.

[mipapage]

Ditch the flash, or put it in the homepage in a seamless way, so that it adds value to the page and isn't sitting somewhere on its own.

This is what we usually do for our clients when they want flash, or the marketplace requires it.

Try and set it up so that the closing frame has a message of value* in it and a 'view again' button. Then make it so that in one session on the site a viewer only has to watch the animation once; if they want to see it again they press the button.

*even action phrased links deeper into the page somewhwere.

[PCInk]

> put it in the homepage in a seamless way, so that it adds value to the page and isn't sitting somewhere on its own

Well said.

We are on the internet wanting information at our own speed, we should not be waiting around for a specific time like other media types such as TV and radio.

The navigation could be put right around the flash for two reasons. One it gives the visitor a lot to look at - they will be deciding where to go whilst the flash intro plays. Secondly, you page will look stupid to anyone who does not have flash installed. Just one link to enter the site!

Some search engines do (or did) take longer to deep index a site. The further back the level of links to the information, the longer it may take. This may not be true of some spiders.

[fom2001uk]

Thanks for the replies. Now I'm really worried. It's too late to ditch the Flash, the client has just paid for it. So the only option is to amend it in the way you've described.

How exactly do you make Flash "seamless" and what's this stuff about frames?

I'm not a designer, but will pass on any techie stuff to the flash designer who built the site.

[sem4u]

Maybe you could reduce the size of the flash presentation to half or a quarter of its current size. Then the rest of the homepage could be optimised. I am no flash expert though.

[limbo]

sem4u

Not a bad idea at all - flash is vector based so it would resize with lower reduction of quality than you would find with other graphic/multimedia files. You could then house the intro within the page as a graphic element not as a separate splash page(shudder).

[fom2001uk]

Designer has suggested putting the navigation on the flash intro page. That'll work right? Spiders will have links to follow then.

[PCInk]

...but not in the flash file. You need the navigation in the HTML.

[fom2001uk]

I assume that's exactly what the designer intends doing. The original Flash Intro page already had a link in the HTML (skip link), so why would the navigation not also appear in the HTML?

[tbear]

>>so why would the navigation not also appear in the HTML? <<

It might seem silly (perhaps not to your web-guy) but I've seen many 'skip intro' links that are inside the flash intro and not in the HTML. Kind of defeats the object....
Good ideas above. Links on the root page make the content closer to the visitor.

[digitalv]

FYI ...

I don't have Flash on my system. I hate Flash. If I'm going to a website, I'm going there to look for content, to browse at my own pace, to find what I'm looking for. Flash gets in the way of that.

Why should I have to sit there and watch a stupid flash movie, even if it's only ten seconds? Does no one give any consideration to RETURNING visitors? What if I wanted to go to your site a couple of times a day - do I have to watch that crap every time I go there? Come on. Why should I have to click a "skip intro" link either? Just take me to the freakin page I want to go to already, don't bother me with annoying splash pages.

Webmasters need to start using common sense in what their visitors want to see, not showing off their skills with third party development tools. I uninstalled Flash over a year ago, and haven't missed it. When the little box pops up that says I have to have flash to view the site and asks if I want to install it, I click no and surf elsewhere.

Check the server logs - I think you'll find that you get a lot of hits to your home page, and the visitor never makes it to the next page.