Why you should avoid frames when developing websites - most of the time

<body> <h3><font face="Arial">Website Development - The pros and cons of Frames</font></h3> <p><font face="Arial" size="2">Frames are a way to divide the main browser window into two or more sections, each of which can display independent content. They are often used to provide constant navigation menus (similar to our monthly tip homepage) but like most things, there are pros and cons to using them. In our opinion, frames should be avoided whenever possible. So, if you have to use them, here's how to make the most of frames.</font></p> <p><font face="Arial" size="2">Here are a couple of reasons you should avoid frames:</font> <ul> <li><font face="Arial" size="2">Some people hate them</font></li> <li><font face="Arial" size="2">Search engines don't like them</font></li> <li><font face="Arial" size="2">Pages may be seen out of the frame context and become "orphans"</font></li> </ul> <p><font face="Arial" size="2">Before we get into a discussion about these issues, we'll take a quick look at how frames are coded in HTML.</font></p> <p><font color="#000000"></font><font face="Arial" size="2"><html><br> <head><br> <title>Why you should avoid frames when developing websites - most of the time</title><br> </head><br> <<strong>frameset</strong> cols="167,*" frameborder="0"><br> <frame name="contents" target="main" src="dmay2000-nav.htm" scrolling="never" border="0"><br> <frame name="main" src="dmay2000-1.htm" border="0"><br> <noframes><br> <body><br> <p>This page uses frames, but your browser doesn't support them.</p><br> </body><br> </noframes><br> </frameset><br> </html></font></p> <p><font color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2">The <frameset> tags identify that frames are being used. The <frame> tags identify which pages are to be displayed in each frame. You'll notice that the <frameset> tag comes before the <body> tag does. You'll also notice that the <body> tags are surrounded by <noframes> tags. This identifies the content that will be displayed in a browser that doesn't support frames. </font></p> <b><p><font face="Arial" size="2"><a name="Frame Hatred">Frame Hatred</a></font></p></b> <p><font face="Arial" size="2">So, why would some people hate frames? As with any programming feature, frames have been over-used in the past. When browsers initially began to support frames, there were both good and bad uses of frames and they became a major topic of discussion. Most people who have gotten onto the Internet in the past year or so probably don't care as much as those who passionately debated this topic in the past. If you implement frames properly in your website, you probably won't get any complaints.</font></p> <b><p><font face="Arial" size="2"><a name="Search Engines and Frames">Search Engines and Frames</a></font></p></b> <p><font face="Arial" size="2">Some search engines are not able to follow the links found within the <frameset> tag. This means that if you submit only your homepage to be indexed by a search engine, chances are it will stop at your homepage. Below is the code for a typical page using frames. This page exists online. Names have been changed to protect the guilty.</font></p> <p><font face="Arial" size="2"><html><br> <head><br> <title>Your Company's Name Here</title><br> </head><br> <frameset cols="144,1*" frameborder="NO" border="0" framespacing="0"> <br> <frame src="/online/menu.htm" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="NO" noresize<br> frameborder="NO" name="menu"><br> <frame src="/online/main.shtml" frameborder="NO" noresize scrolling="AUTO" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" name="main"><br> </frameset><br> <noframes><body bgcolor="#FFFFFF"></body></noframes><br> </html></font></p> <p><font face="Arial" size="2">You'll notice that aside from the information in the document's title, there is no text for a search engine to index. Strike one against this page. The authors also did not use META tags for keywords or descriptions. Strike two. Considering that the links in this page can't be followed by many search engines, the likelihood of this website being well represented in the search engines is minimal. Strike three - you're out.</font></p> <b><p><font face="Arial" size="2"><a name="Making Frames">Making </a>Pages Search Engine Friendly</font></p></b> <p><font face="Arial" size="2">While the example above is typical, you don't have to make the same mistakes. See the <noframes> </noframes> tags near the end? Information contained between those tags is displayed to users who are not using frames-capable browsers. Search engines also read that information, so it is a great place to put text containing your keywords and links to other pages that search engines CAN follow. While this technique can solve some of your problems, it can create others.</font></p> <b><p><font face="Arial" size="2"><a name="Orphan">Orphan</a> Pages</font></p></b> <p><font face="Arial" size="2">Imagine you've found a great webpage in the search engines but it has no links to other pages. What do you do? If you're like most people, you hit the back button and go to another site looking for the information. This is the fate of the "orphan" page. Orphans are usually created when site developers use a frame for the navigation of a site. The assumption is that everyone who visits the site will go to the homepage. If that is true, then all of the pages of the site will be displayed in the correct frame context. Since most conscientious website developers submit all of the pages of their sites to the search engines, there is a chance that a sub-page of the site will be ranked higher than the homepage and will appear in the top listings. If this page is visited, it will be displayed on its own without its accompanying navigation frame. Orphan pages are of no value to your visitors.</font></p> <b><p><font face="Arial" size="2"><a name="Reuniting">Reuniting</a> Orphan Pages with Your Site</font></p></b> <p><font face="Arial" size="2">The problem with orphan pages is the lack of links to the rest of your site. This is easily remedied by adding a link to your homepage. Visitors will then be able to see your site the way you meant them to see it.</font></p> <b><p><font face="Arial" size="2"><a name="To Frame">To Frame</a> or Not to Frame</font></p></b> <p><font face="Arial" size="2">As with most things, there are two sides (or more) to every discussion. Since we're fans of never saying never, here are our final suggestions regarding frames: </font><ul> <li><font face="Arial" size="2">avoid them when possible</font></li> <li><font face="Arial" size="2">if you're going to use them, provide links from all pages to your homepage to avoid orphan pages</font></li> <li><font face="Arial" size="2">remember to provide text and links in the <noframes> area for the search engines to index</font></li> </ul> <p align="center"><a href="http://www.thewebforbusiness.com/search.shtml"><b>Internet Marketing</b></a><b> | <a href="http://www.thewebforbusiness.com/website-design.shtml">Website Development</a> | <a href="http://www.thewebforbusiness.com/hosting.shtml">Web Hosting</a> | <a href="http://www.thewebforbusiness.com/portfolio.shtml">Portfolio</a><br> <a href="http://www.thewebforbusiness.com/articles/index.shtml">Internet Marketing Articles</a> | <a href="http://www.thewebforbusiness.com/contact.shtml">Contact Us</a> | <a href="../privacy-policy.shtml">Privacy Policy</a> | <a href="http://www.thewebforbusiness.com/index.shtml">Home</a></b></p> <p align="center">Contact The Web For Business.com at the following co-ordinates:</p> <p align="center">4 Conroy Crescent, Thorold, Ontario L2V 4R3<br> Tel: 905-227-6667 <br> Fax: 905-227-6668<br> <a href="http://www.thewebforbusiness.com/contact.shtml">Contact Us</a></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://www.theniagaraguide.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.thewebforbusiness.com/images/niagara-guide-logo.gif" width="110" height="111" border="0"></a></p> <p align="center"><b><a href="http://www.theniagaraguide.com" target="_blank">Developers of The Niagara Guide Network</a></b></p> </body>