FLASH... Is it really all it's made up to be?

We've had a few clients who have websites designed for them by some other web companies that are made entirely of Flash. We've even lost a customer once time because our site, which wasn't Flash, was too "boring." (we've since heard they're moving on to ANOTHER web provider)

So the question I ask is this - Is a Flash-driven site really a good idea at all? Sure, a site that's made entirely of Flash, or even Microsoft's new Silverlight software, is fancy and eye catching, but who's perspective is the sight designed around? The consumer? Or is it the business? I'll tell you what, if I'm going to go to a website to look for a car, or to look for a watch... I don't care about flashy buttons, fading graphics, and cool background music. I want search, I want pictures, I want history reports, I want live chat with support.

What I want is CONTENT, not just FLUFF, which is really all I think most Flash sites (especially those template driven sites you see all around the web that are so obviously a customized can) deliver.

Besides having good content ON my company'site, I want content that will drive people TO my site. This means so much more than just META tags. With a server-side, data-driven application, I can make my entire site visible to the search engines, all the way down to my detailed inventory or product pages. They'll see my stock numbers, my design specs, and even my "Yellow 2007 Hummer H3," if that's what they're looking for. If I've got a totally-Flash site (or Siverlight, or Java, even), all they're going to see is my homepage and it's static content. They'll never find me by searching for something specific, which is exactly how i want them to find me.

Enough ranting. I like Flash. There is a lot you can do with Flash. I have seen some amazingly useful sites that incorporate Flash. But most of those sites are done by huge companies, companies with IT budgets bigger than small business total incomes, let alone what they can spend on a website that may need to be redone 4-5 years from now.

With the tools in our pocket - SQL Server, ASP.NET, VB.NET, and many others - we can quickly and effeciently develop a data driven site for you that is full of design and content, that is searchable, and that will keep your current customers, as well as your new ones looking for that particular thing on your shelf, coming back time after time.

Contact us today and let's talk about your company and what we can do for you to drive traffic to your front door.