Myth: If you build a site in Flash, search engines can’t see it.
Myth: Sites built in Flash are hard to use because the browser controls don’t work.
Myth: Flash sites are unusable by visitors that need assistive technologies.

One of the many common assumptions of website design is that you can have rich interactivity using Flash or, you can have a site that is easy to use, accessible and also search engine friendly. We’re happy to let you know that this is no longer the case. You can have it all, but you have to plan for it and do some extra work.

In our recent work for Burgerville, we faced these and many other hurdles that evolved from our commitment to be both compelling AND technically savvy to the search engine marketing world we live in.

In general, the shortcomings with Flash fall into three key categories: usability, accessibility, and search engine blindness.

• Usability
  • Browser Back/Forward button doesn’t usually work as users’ expect.
  • Browser bookmarking is not possible for a section within the animation/application.
  • Non-standard GUI controls (scrollbars, etc.) are used.
  • Gratuitous animation can become annoying.
• Accessibility
  • Flash is not readable by text-only browsers for the visually impaired.
  • Keyboard navigation is frequently not provided.
  • Screen readers cannot read Flash action script without specific effort on the part of the developers.
• Search Engine Compatibility
  • Search engines do not index Flash websites because they cannot see readable text, metadata, or body copy.

Many of these shortcomings with Flash had to be overcome if we were going to help Burgerville be successful. Well-known usability, accessibility, and search engine problems demanded technical creativity and innovative thinking.

A Look Under the Hood

When we created the Burgerville site, we put the known issues with Flash into the creative mix and came up with some solutions.

• Usability
  • Back/Forward and bookmarking functionality is fully supported.
  • There are no non-standard GUI components within Flash.
  • Flash-based content is an integrated element within the site.
  • Generous hit areas and obvious calls to action were implemented so that users know that they can interact with the Flash section of the website.
  • The majority of the user experience is contained within Flash and separate from the indexed content; while customers are navigating the site, they will notice the integrated animation, but only if they choose to.
  • The system does not force site visitors to finish watching animations before presenting content.
• Accessibility
  • We designed the site to allow virtually any browser, even a text-only web browser, to have access to all the content on the website.
• Search Engine Compatibility
  • The bulk of the site content is created using HTML and is readily indexed by search engine crawlers.
  • All major website guidelines published by Google for webmasters were implemented for the site.

Key Technologies

We employed both server-side and client-side programming techniques to maximize the website experience. On the server-side, technologies include Microsoft .NET and Microsoft SQL Server, which provide a powerful framework for the entire Burgerville website. Client-side technologies include Flash and Javascript, which enhance the user experience with fluid animations and page transitions.

The content for the entire website is housed and maintained within a Content Management System (CMS). This provides a convenient way for one or more content authors to collaborate and manage content on the website.

So, in the argument between Flash vs. SEO, both sides can be declared winners. It just takes planning and know-how.

The rapid pace of high-tech innovation yields an unfortunate byproduct; obsolete high-tech junk that all too often ends up in landfills, where it can leach poisonous lead and other heavy metals into our groundwater. One solution for this problem is electronics recycling.

For the most part, electronics recycling is measured in cents and pounds. It’s a scrap industry based on high volumes of metal, plastic, and glass. It takes a lot of raw material to make it economically feasible to recycle. E-Tech Recycling, Inc. keeps electronic waste out of landfills using other strategies in addition to recycling.

If the electronics are relatively new, they probably still have a value on the open market. Good examples include recent vintage monitors or an Intel® Pentium® 4 processor-based computer.

When it comes to keeping electronic waste out of the local landfill, E-Tech employs a four-step strategy:

• Reuse. Can another company use the electronics as is? Can those old computers be put to use in a school, non-profit, small business or elsewhere?
• Redeploy. Can parts be used in some other device? Can the motherboard from an oscilloscope be used in a sound mixing board? Or in a robotics project?
• Remarket. Can the working parts be reassembled into a different computer or device? Can the old sound cards be put into working, older model computers?
• Recycle. Process the materials back to a raw state to be resold as a commodity so that the materials can be used to manufacture something else.

E-Tech Recyclers triage items that arrive at their warehouses according to the opportunity for reuse or recycling. Depending on market conditions, there may be a higher demand for the parts than the original unit.

Why is the triage effort important? Because recycling requires additional natural resources to re-process the raw materials, and should therefore be used when a product is truly at its end of life. The goal with any reduce, reuse, recycle program is to save our planet!

E-Tech Recycling is just one of the many electronic recyclers out there, taking in e-waste from various entities. What sets them apart is their approach to reuse, redeploy, remarket and recycle. E-Tech, though a wide network of vendors and clients, is able to maintain and develop the necessary markets for the most effective and efficient e-waste reuse stream, fulfilling the company’s promise to never use landfills for the disposal of electronics. For more information, visit E-Tech Recycling.