It is commonly known that there are hundreds of factors that work into search engine algorithms. However, recent news and buzz in the Internet search community indicates that Google (the most substantial and largest search engine) will be adding loading time into their algorithm beginning in 2010.
It is unknown how much weight this will be given in the algorithm because the exact formulas are never published. However, since page load time is something you can address with design, it make sense that this should be addressed if it is an issue on your site.
What about Flash?
Of course, this discussion will revive the age-old Flash vs. HTML argument. More than 80% of the sites we design are both Flash and HTML. We moved to recommending this format a few years ago and it has resulted in a best-of-both-worlds situation. Our Flash/HTML blend of design gets clients a high level of aesthetic and plenty of HTML elements to better optimize the site with keywords.
If you have an all-Flash site, I would be most concerned about this new factor if you have a long animation at the outset that loads before your home page loads. This will count against your load time and... well, let’s face it... that is pretty outdated these days. We haven’t designed a long loading animation at Dog Star Media in about five years if that tells you something. And, yes, a new DogStarMedia.com is coming later this month so if I can let my old animated beginning go, you can, too!
What about video?
If it is done properly, your video loads onto your site from an Flash media server. This loads in your video faster all around, which is why we do it. However, if your video is just an element or a module on the page, then this is not going to count against your site loading statistics. For example if you have a video on your site or some of our Flash video web drops (where the doctor talks directly to you), then you are streaming this video into your site from the Flash media server. It is not part of your page load. So, don’t let this new talk about site loading time dissuade you from adding video or Flash to your site. For cosmetic doctors and dentists, these are important elements in making the proper presentation. You just need to know how to add those elements in without hurting your loading time. This is a complicated point but it should be a major consideration when choosing a web design company. We understand all of these elements and build them into our designs. Be warned: Others do not.
So, it is probably time for you to look at your web site and ask yourself if your loading time is going to be an issue. An easy self-test would be 1) Do you have an opening animation? 2 ) Do you have an animated landing page that precedes your home page? 3) Do you have an all-Flash web site that was designed years ago before recent improvements have become standard. If you answered yes to any of those three, you should probably contact us for a design consultation on how to improve your design. Feel free to contact me at donald@dogstarmedia.com for more information.
