Ten Reasons Not to Use Frames in MIT Web Pages

Suzana Lisanti

Over a year ago, Netscape introduced frames as a concept in Web 
publishing. Frames divide a Web  page into separate scrollable windows 
so that viewers can look at multiple pages simultaneously. Each frame 
can load information independently of the other frames on the page.
 
One major benefit of frames is that an element that a publisher wants as 
a constant - a table of contents, navigator bar, or title graphic - can 
be placed in a static frame that is always displayed.

On the other hand, frames break the "one URL per page" standard, which 
leads to several shortcomings - at least as frames are currently 
implemented. Here are ten good reasons to avoid using frames in your MIT 
Web pages.

1. Indexing programs (search engines such as AltaVista, Harvest, and 
InfoSeek) do not automatically index the content of frames. 

2. Bookmarks don't work as expected; you can bookmark the top-level 
(frameset) page, but not necessarily what's displayed on your screen. 

3. What you see on screen and what gets printed are usually not the 
same.

4. Frames are harder to code, with syntax that includes frameset tags 
and target windows. Pages with frames are also harder to maintain. For 
instance, the number of files to track for each page with frames is the 
number of windows plus the frameset page (usually 3-4 pages).
 
6. A few browsers can't deal with frames (e.g., some AOL versions, 
lynx). 

7. Netscape 2.x doesn't supply "back" navigation with frames.
 
8. When frames are nested within frames, text can become unreadable.
 
9. Frames can be coded to open a new, external window. Most systems take 
quite a while to open a new window, and some viewers find this "feature" 
annoying.
 
10. If you want to check the source code of a frame, you have to open at 
least two documents. 

Tables: An Alternative to Frames
Style sheets being developed by the World Wide Web Consortium promise to 
provide the features of frames in a better implementation. Until then, 
when tempted to use frames, consider using tables instead. You can 
code tables to display information in a layout that is similar to what 
could be achieved with frames. File management with tables is much 
easier, and you will also reach a larger audience.
 
Suggested Reading
Jakob Nielsen, a noted expert on usability and interface design, has 
written a compelling article against the use of frames. You can read it 
at

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9612.html

The Web page from which this article was adapted also has some links of 
interest. You can view it at 

http://web.mit.edu/cwis/frames/