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.

Poor: a 'framed' site

<FRAMESET cols="15%, 85%"> <FRAME src="menu.html" title="main site menu" name="menu"> <FRAME src="content1.html" title="Page contents " name="content"> <NOFRAMES> <P>This frameset document contains: <UL> <LI><A href="menu.html">Main site navigation menu</A></LI> <LI><A href="pageref1.html">Page contents </A></LI> </UL> </NOFRAMES> </FRAMESET> </HTML>

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DEV 2.1 Do not use frames

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