Frames

What are frames?

Frames are rectangular containers in a browser window that show separate web pages within the main web page. If frames don't have a border, scroll bar, or different background colour, you may not realise that they are present.

Frames can be used to create some very complex web applications. The 123Live website editor uses frames and simply would not work without them. The 123Live.co.uk website (the one you are looking at now) does not use frames because there is no need for them.

Why should you avoid using frames?

Bookmarks (favourites)

If you bookmark the main frame page and then come back to it, the default document will be loaded in each frame. It will not "remember" what documents were in the individual frames when you bookmarked it.

If you bookmark a page by using the right mouse button you will bookmark just that frame. When you come back to it you will only see that frame which may be meaningless without the other frames which make up the rest of the page.

URL (web address) does not change

The URL of a framed page stays the same, regardless of how many links were followed inside it. This can be annoying for readers who cut and paste a URL to email to a colleague, for example.

Search engines

Search engines have difficulty coping with framed pages. If a search engine does find framed content they will link to the frame, not the whole page, so the user is likely to get a part of a page that does not make sense on it's own. For example, frames are often used to hold thenavigation links. Without the navigation the user will have no way of getting to the rest of the site.

The BACK button

Frames often break the browsers 'back' button, leading to upredicatable results and frustration for the user.

Printing

Printing a regular web page is simple. With a framed page the user has to make choices about how and which part of the page to print.

Horizontal scrollbars

Vertical scrollbars are OK. You can read a body of text and then scroll down and read the next block. You can avoid using the mouse by using the cursor keys or by using the mouse wheel if your mouse has one.

Horizontal scrollbars mean that you have to use your mouse to scroll across the page for every line of text.

Framed pages mean that you can end up with several horizontal scrollbars on one a page.