In the ancient city of Zippori, magnificent mosaics been preserved for posterity. The artists who developed these mosaics were at the cutting edge of material innovation and artistic expression. Each stone was placed by hand (like a pixel), to the artist's specifications and took years to complete. These masterpieces remain preserved for the world to enjoy. Very cool stuff, you say, but why blog about it on the SpaBoom site? Because I want to point out what those motionless works of ancient art have in common with an Adobe Flash website.

For years many of us SEO-interested types have been warning all who would listen that Flash content on your website is invisible to search engines. Some of us (me) have gone so far as to suggest that the overuse of Flash is generally a self indulgent bad idea when designing a website. Well I have good news and bad news for you Flashers.

The good new is that new developments by Adobe along with Google's enhanced code are designed to make Flash files easier for search engines to read and index. Overall, this is a great thing. Otherwise static websites can be enhanced with Flash to develop beautiful website designs sprinkled with amazing animation without hiding the content embedded in the Flash. While this is progress, it's not a green light to run out of do a 100% Flash-based site. Remember that underneath that Flash and beauty is the website's content. Flash content is virtually unchangeable by the website's owner and updating it (indexable or not) is generally a nightmare. That's because there are no set standards for Flash development and very few sites are designed to accommodate a site owner's need to change and update information on their site. When text is embedded into a Flash file a web designer must specify the fonts, sizes, content and layout (picture the Second Century mosaic "developer" choosing his materials). When the site is completed, a site owner can't go in and make content changes easily. The guts of a Flash site might as well be set in stone and mortar like the 1,800 year old image above. Rather than update often, most site owners just wait until they are so sick of their website they hire a new designer to create a new one. Content that is not updated is not useful to the visitors. For example, if your Mother's Day special is still showing—is it at least for this year? Do you at least update your site for the massive purchase and sale opportunities that come around each year? It gets worse. Sites that are not updated often are punished in their rankings. To beat up the analogy, the Zippori graphic was last updated in the year 200 CE. They had a lot of traffic back then. Today—not so much.

So what to do with your website? I really think that a little Flash is nice (not necessary but OK). Just think about where you use it. Logos, and images within your pages are a good place to use some Flash. Your menu, specials and any content you would like to change (without a $500-$2,000 fee from your designer) is not a good idea. We like to tout Dynamic websites, which are flexible and allow our clients to easily update content and images that are displayed on their site. A smart website gives its owner creative independence and provides users with the convenience of relevant and updated information. Today, a business owner needs a website that meets the needs of the business before satisfying their artistic cravings. For pure art and history, commission a mosaic. Your website is a tool for your business. Keep it in the current era.