The Chief

Ok i've done a couple of sites which i thik are ok but after reading other forums the 'web experts' are poo pooing flash based websites that you can do your self.

The problem seems to be search egine optimization apparently, although mine whilst not great is on Google

I use Moonfruit at the moment and i do it myself and it is for a numpty dead easy to use. I really dont want to have to learn Dreamweaver or pay loads for a proffesional to do my site as it will need constant updating.

So what are your opinions on these template drag and drop online web creators?

Thanks in advance


Cheers

Luminous

iTrader: (3)

You have to take sites on a case by case basis. If it looks ok and works ok, then it is ok.

There are a lot of people that will tell you that you need to spend £xxxx to get it done right. Normally they are the people who are in the business of charging £xxxx

A professionally made site has the potential to be better, as there should be no limit to what you can have done. It should also free up some of your time to spend in other areas. The question is always budget and competition. If your site is already better than the competition then maybe there is not that much point.

The Chief

Thanks for your comments much appreciated

GaryK

Well chief if you want it to be half decent and need to keep it up to date why not install something like wordpress and then search for a wordpress template (either free or paid for) to make a site that looks half decent and easy to add content to.

RichB

Im one of those people who charge £xxxx so will tell you you get what you pay for.
Im not a designer, I take a designers work and turn it into (IMHO) XHTML/CSS and do a good job of SEO. My designer can't code but is an excellent designer.
To find someone good at both is uncommon (IMHO) and so as a result you are already feeding 2 mouths.

Flash can in theory be indexed by Google but it probably depends on how the flash was generated, lot of text as images and it wont do it etc...

bob269

Too much flash on a site looks crap imo, I tend to skip these sites.

Everything is good in moderation.

RichB

Agree with Bob, flash for the sake of flash is bad. Flash to promote or demonstrate as part of a site is ok (IMHO)

Pumpkin

I don't like flash unless its there for a purpose. Intros, fancy graphics - bah

Iain Young

Agreed. Site with excessive flash content are usually just a pain in the rear and I skip past them asap.

The Chief

Hmmm maybe i'm getting my wires crossed here, its just a drag and drop site that is online. i use Moonfruit as my sitebuilder

_Meridian_

iTrader: (1)

Exactly: flash should only be used to demonstrate something, NEVER as bling.


M

spectrum48k

nice use of flash here - note it's not a 100% flash site - just used appropriately
KnickerPicker - online dressing room

bob269

And you use this site because?

From what The Chief has said, he wants to design a website (without any flash content) but using an online website creator, like googles online thingy or in this case Moonfruit, these sites are flashbased to allow easier use for the end user but the question is does the finished result look any good ?

I think there was initial confusion with the first post

spectrum48k

I use "that" site for research purposes

Back to the subject - Chief - kind you advise specifically what your site will be used for ? Maybe's we can tailor a recommendation for you ?

RichB

Excellent demonstration of flash. I think it needs more research.....

bob269

Back to the off topic of flash stuff

HEMA - online winkelen

click the blue cup top right

SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

very good

PeteBrant

That's great

ex-webby

FLASH is not good imo (unless for a specific purpose).

It's so yesteryear.

The Chief

Yeah you've got it spot on.

sorry for my confusing original post.

The problem with my site and tbh i dont think it looks too bad is that say worst case - Moonfruit ceases trading i'm knackered, i have the images and text but thats it.

Hmmmm might have to think of a back up.

any suggestions?

Thanks for the comments so far

The Chief

I'll be selling onboard trackday cameras.

Just need it to look proffesional and a numpty like me to design it and update it.

Pumpkin

What sort of cameras?

We use a Chasecam solid state camera with Sony HQ1 bullet camera. We overlay data from a Race-Technology datalogger using Trackvision software.

The Chief

I'm a long way off Chasecam who are arguably the biggest and best in the country, i'll just be selling these to people who want to film themselves.

For obvious reasons (Scoobynet policy) i cannot post a link to the website on here

Shark Man

That has to to be biggest annoyance of any site.

Anything with a intro, I just kill off and don't bother with.

Usually, the more faffy/arsy the website; the more useless the company is, so I take my business elsewhere

spectrum48k

I've done the odd website for people and more than a few have asked for the obligatory "intro screen"

After a while I eventually learned - give the customer what they ask for, not what I think they should have.