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SWeCS NEWSLETTER - 28 July 2003

In this issue...

- New site and newsletter
- To Flash or Not To Flash?
- Yahoo buys Overture
- Resources For Small Business

NEW SITE AND NEWSLETTER

Yes, something IS different about the SWeCS Newsletter this fortnight.

We're currently re-designing our web site. Take a look: www.southwestecommerce.com.

TO FLASH OR NOT TO FLASH?

"Flash" is a tool for making web sites look very pretty with moving graphics that look like movies. If you're not sure what we're talking about, here is a site that uses Flash on their home page:

www.meetingexpectations.com

While Flash can be used to make excellent looking sites, there are some very important things to remember if you are going to use it. We're not saying you should never use Flash in your web sites, we're simply saying that you must take into account the following points:

1. Remember that not everyone has a Flash plugin installed on their computer. More importantly, remember that some people won't or even CAN'T install a Flash plugin on their computer. I know of some people, especially those working within government departments, who cannot install Flash plugins because their computer is locked by their IT department. Therefore, these people will never be able to view your site properly unless you give them an alternative.
   
   
2. Pure flash sites are bad for search engine ranking. Search engines use "robots" or "spiders" (computer programs) to search the web, including your site, and try to determine what it is about. That way, they know to place it in their search results when someone searches for your product. The thing is, these spiders can only tell what your site is about by reading content (ie. simple text). So if you're site, especially your home page, is made up entirely of Flash, there is nothing there for the search engine spiders to read, and therefore they won't know what your site is about, and your site is unlikely to appear anywhere important in the search engine rankings.
   
   
3. Even if you do get around those two problems (see below for how to do it), don't forget that Flash takes a long time to load. The most common way for people to connect to the Internet is still by dialup, especially in regional areas, and Flash can take a long time to load via a 56k modem connection. Maybe in a few years when more people are on Broadband it won't be so much of a problem, but for now, a lot of your web visitors won't want to wait for the download. And in that time you could lose them to another site.

So how to do get around these problems? There is one simple answer to them all. YOU MUST PROVIDE AN ALTERNATIVE SITE THAT DOES NOT USE FLASH. This means providing an alternate copy of your all your pages that use Flash.

How do you make sure that people with Flash plugins see your Flash site and those without go to your "normal" (static) site? By using a Flash sniffer. A Flash sniffer simply a bit of coding that works out whether a web visitor has Flash installed on their computer or not. If so, it automatically directs them to the Flash version of your site. If not, they are automatically referred to the static version.

A web page that contains instructions for building a Flash sniffer is at:
http://demo.doubleclick.net/tools/sniffercode/sniffer.html

Also, on your Flash pages you should have a link such as "Skip Flash Intro". This gives people, even those with Flash installed, the option of skipping the great movie and getting straight into the content of your site.

It's all about getting more visitors to your site, and keeping them there longer.

YAHOO BUYS OVERTURE

The big news in the search engine industry at the moment is the recent announcement of Yahoo that they are buying Overture.

For those of you who don't know, Overture is probably the largest "pay-per-click" engine in the world, with their results feeding other major search engines such as MSN and Lycos.

For the moment, nothing is changing. In particular, nothing is changing for Overture customers. Yahoo has stated that Overture will remain as it is. It will be interesting to watch what happens in the near future though, as Yahoo starts to put together it's newfound market reach. For example, Yahoo's results are currently backed up by Google. Will that change now?

Watch this space.

RESOURCES FOR SMALL BUSINESS

Ecommerce Library

Browse through the SWeCS Ecommerce Library, full of FREE information about getting more out of the Internet. Sections include Web Site Development, Web Site Promotion & Internet Marketing, Online Commerce, Computer & Technical Issues, and Miscellaneous.

Newsletter Archives

The SWeCS Newsletter archives provides a wealth of FREE information on small business and the Internet. Browse through the main topics or search for your particular query.

SWeCS Affiliate Program

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Do you know of a resource that should be added here? Email us and let us know. There is only one condition - it must be free.