Why Frames Are Not Supported at MIT

MIT web pages, as distinct from personal web pages, communicate mission-critical information to the largest targeted audience possible. The use of frames *reduces* the audience for MIT information; until the frames feature is better implemented by WWW browsers, the Web Communications Services group strongly recommends you do not use frames.

Why do people use frames?

• Each frame can load information independent of the other frames on the page.
• A long document can scroll in a window
• Elements you want to remain constant, such as table of contents, menu/navigators, and title graphics can be placed in a static, individual frame that is always displayed
• Seemingly snazzy pages, increased design complexity.

Reasons NOT to use frames

1. Indexing programs (search engines) do not index the content of frames well
2. Bookmarks don't work as you'd expect; you can bookmark the top-level (frameset) page, but not necessarily what's displayed on your screen.
3. Frames don't usually print the way the screens look.
4. Frames are harder to code; take a look at frames syntax.
5. Frames are hard to maintain; it's hard to keep track of the files and what happens when. For instance, the number of files for each frames page is the number of windows+frameset page (usually 3-4 pages), not counting a possible text-only version of your site.
6. Many browsers can't deal with frames
7. As the small screen splits into even smaller nested panes, the text gets more and more unreadable.
8. It can be difficult for the user to navigate through frames, often the screens are very "busy"
9. Frames can be coded to open a new, external window. This choice should be up to the user. Remember that most systems take quite a while to open a new window, and some people find gratuitous new windows annoying.
10. If you want to check the "source code" of a frame, you have to open at least 2 documents

Alternative to frames: tables

Tips if you do use frames

• The less scrolling windows, the better readability
• Keep your layout clutter-free. Try not to create a frame around every element on your page. We've all seen pages that have a header window, a footer window, a main window and even side windows at times, all with loud background graphics that don't match up when you start scrolling. Using one or two background colors, or a neutral background graphic, seems to be the least annoying
• Consider avoiding frames entirely. The best layout for the page may not need a frame at all.

Suggested Reading

• Jakob Nielsen, Why Frames Suck (Most of the Time)