Impressing customers as they cruise your site is a good idea, but what types of interactive technology are best for a merchant account? There are lots of options, and its best to consider if being flashy is better than a clean, simple-functioning online merchant account.
What is Adobe Flash Technology? Adobe Flash is an advanced user-interactive technology platform with lots of bells and whistles. It works for the Web, mobile devices, presentations and more. While Flash grabs attention, there are some drawbacks, too. It’s important to know what will work for your business, and if the “attraction factor” outweighs site functionality.
Challenges with Using Flash for E-Commerce Not everyone has a Flash player installed: Although more than 95 percent of Web users have a player installed (according to Adobe), it’s not on all computer users. That means people interested in buying may be “shut out”, and purchase from a competitor. Flash is not always accessible: While many designers are concerned with the majority of Web surfers, there are also a considerable number of disabled folks unable to use Flash, and will be unable to access the e-commerce site.
The alternative? Build two versions of the same site, one with and one without Flash – but that creates more development and maintenance costs. Lose out on the power of search engine optimization: Keywords are included as part of a site’s design through hypertext markup language (HTML). As search engines do their work, they search for keywords and tags to identify your site and place it into search results. If Web pages do not include any keywords or tags, there are no clear clues for search engines to find your online merchant account. Inter-site linking is another key method search engines use to identify and index a site for a search result. Flash does not use HTML or inter-site linking, which equals lost site traffic.
It’s best not to use Flash to deliver important content such as product information or a shopping cart. Use HTML instead, as this language is easily recognized by search engines. Flash is best for internal ads, or to promote other people’s products.
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