Problems With Frames

HTML frames were introduced by Netscape in version 2.0 of its Navigator browser. They are a method for a web author to arrange multiple separate HTML documents on the visitor's screen to form a somewhat cohesive whole — they are often used to replicate the same piece of content on multiple percieved pages. Frames later went on to form part of the HTML 4.0 standard and are now supported by nearly all web browsers.

Unfortunately, as is the case with most non-standard HTML extensions (even if they do later become adopted as standards), it was poorly thought out. In practice frames introduce several problems.

• Not all browsers support frames. Enough said.
• Lack of unique URLs: each page on the Web traditionally had a unique URL (address). Frames allow you to view many documents at the same address, breaking this concept. This may not seem important, but it has knock-on effects:
  • It is tricky to bookmark a framed page;
  • It is tricky to link to a framed page or send it by e-mail.
• Multiple scroll bars: each page in a set of frames may have its own scroll bar. These can be hidden, but that may hide content in cases where there is too much content to be visible without scrolling. Multiple scroll bars can confuse visitors.
• Orphan documents: if you visit a sub-document directly you will not see the other sub-documents that normally surround it, so will often miss out on vital pieces of information, such as the navigation menu.
• Printing: many browsers have problems printing frame sets.

For other resources listing the problems of frames, please see:

• Google Information for Webmasters under the "Your page uses frames" subheading.
• XFrames – the technology set to eventually replace frames.
• Why Frames Suck (Most of the Time) – rather an old document, but still raises some valid points.
• Why are frames so evil?

Read on for the solutions to some of these problems.

Navigation bar missing?