DEV 2.1 - Do not use frames
Frames violate many accepted web standards and cause a variety of accessibility problems.
The problems they cause outweigh the limited advantages of using them.
- Do not use frames - use a well- designed,non-frame navigation structure instead.
- If you absolutely must use frames then:
- Design the framesets to be as simple as possible;
- Ensure that each and every frame has a meaningful (concise and descriptive) title;
- Use <noframes> to provide for people who cannot or choose not to display frames:
- Indicate what the content of the frames should be and provide links the individual frame pages,
NB: the <noframes> content will be presented to people who cannot or choose not to display frames;
- Provide the frameset document type declaration (DTD.)
What is so wrong with frames?
- Frames can confuse users, often causing the following:
- Printing problems;
- Book-marking problems;
- Navigation to not work as expected:
- Breaks the 'forward' and 'back' buttons;
- Frame nesting - frames within frames within frames within frames;
- Problems for screen reader or Braille users
- Some additional problems (and there are more!):
- Not all browsers are frames capable;
- People generally do not like them;
- Search engines can have problems;
- They are more difficult to update;
- They can cause issues when trying to link to them.
