Does anyone know/recommend a good flash developer? I'd like to have someone build me a good portfolio site. Any ideas how much is a reasonable amount to pay for a flash site? Thanks in advance.

Depending upon your skill level to grasp the workings of Flash, I would recommend getting a template and putting it together yourself.

If you rely on a developer then you will always rely on the developer for updates and changes.  if you can afford that, no worries.  If you can't, then Flash isn't the way to go.

Even with a template purchase you must be careful, as many template providers do not provide support and there can be missing elements in the template(s).

The best I found was these folks (cool templates too):
http://www.dreamlinestudio.com/index.php

You will need to invest in the Macromedia Flash software (preferrably MX2004) but in the long run it will be a lot less expensive than continually calling your developer.  Learn now or pay way more later!

Thanks, the problem I'm having is that every developer I've contacted wants something like $3K+ to create a flash site for me - I did find one thats promising (foliolink.com) that looks pretty good but is quite expensive still ($349/yr and $249 setup fee). But I guess when you consider Flash MX costs $699 and one would have to learn it, its probably a good deal.

Or, you could go to solomodels, register your url and use one of their "Flash Creatives" for your portfolio all at a fraction of the cost.

Can someone please confirm or deny this. I have been told and have suffered (when my pics where in a flash site) the statement that Flash makes websites using it difficult to find by search engines.

Google can now search flash to some degree, also you can use metas and such in the index that loads the flash. Far as finding a flash developer, stop by over at takechargeproductions.com , or contact myself (I'm the PHP/MySQL Developer, Marcus does all the flash work)

Karl:

I have been designing and developing flash websites now for over six years. When it comes to search engines, they are unable to spider flash content - BUT - there are ways to circumvent this. Look for a developer that is experienced in flash buildouts as the more "green" developers tend to ignore the search engine issue.

Good luck. Let me know if you have more questions...

This I already realize, thats why most flash designers/developers in a team, cordinate with the non-flash people, or should. Personally I would prefer not to use flash, but thats the demands of most of our clients.