A number of businesses in New Bedford, Massachusetts have asked whether they should have a flash intro on their business website or not. Does a flash intro affect your small business website’s results positively or negatively?

A Flash Intro is not Search Engine Optimized

The first thing New Bedford business owners need to realize is that a flash intro on their small business website will negatively impact on their search engine optimization. Search engine optimization requires an intro that includes the primary keywords for which the website is optimized, but the search engines are unable to read flash intros and so you are leaving out a vitally important aspect of search engine optimization if you opt for a flash intro for your business website.

A Flash Intro Slows the Visitor Down

By having a flash intro on your New Bedford business website you are slowing your visitor down. They are forced to watch the flash intro instead of immediately searching for the information on your website that they are interested in. If they are being slowed down too much they may be tempted to just click out of your website and then you end up losing out on business.

A Flash Intro Cannot Be Indexed by Google

This is closely related to the first point, but apart from just negatively impacting on your search engine optimization Google cannot index your flash intro at all. This means that when people are looking for a New Bedford business in your specific area then they will not find your business website. If you want visitors to come to you as opposed to your competition then it is important that your website is indexed by Google and therefore you should not use a flash intro.

Not All Users Are Able to View Flash Intros

Apart from not being indexed or optimized for the search engines, flash intros may also not be able to be viewed by some people looking for your small business website. There are people who would be interested in your New Bedford business who have either chosen not to accept Flash or whose internet systems do not accept Flash. If you have a flash intro you are preventing these people accessing your business website and so losing out on customers.

In conclusion, New Bedford business owners should not use a flash intro on their small business website because their website will not be indexed by the search engines nor be optimized for the search engines. Flash intros also negatively impact your visitors perception of your business website as it slows down their pace when viewing your website and may also not be able to be viewed on their internet system, either by choice or because their internet system does not accept Flash. Although some web designers may like flash intros to show off their skills it is better to opt for a plain intro programmed in HTML that can be indexed by and optimized for the search engines and that will provide ease of navigation for your visitor.