HTML Advanced: Frames

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HTML Advanced: Frames (cont'd)

Common Frame Design Problems
Problem #1: Tables Would Have Been Better
One of the most common misuses of frames is using frames just to create the effect of rows and columns. Tables do this better and cleaner. Make sure you're using frames for something besides page layout. If page layout is all you want, tables are likely to be a better solution.

Problem #2: Too Many Frames
Another common problem is jamming lots of little frames onto the page. The idea seems to be that if two frames are good, seven are better. More than two or three frames creates a very cluttered page. There's so much noise and so many things going on that your readers will often just give up.

Problem #3: Framed Content Fills Bandwidth
One interesting oversight that some people make is jumping to the conclusion that using frames means you can use lots and lots of graphics. It's not clear why people make that connection (maybe they are thinking that frames don't repaint every time?), but frames download just like any other HTML page.

Graphics in frames take just as long to download and paint on the screen as graphics without frames. In fact, if you have two frames, each containing a file with lots of graphics, the reader actually perceives the page as taking twice as long to load.

Problem #4: Frames for the Sake of Frames
One of the things that gives frames a bad rap is the far-too-many sites that use frames...because they can. These sites haven't thought through the design issues and UI issues involved in using frames. Don't forget the design process in the rush to show that you know how to create a frame. Unframed pages can work perfectly for many kinds of content.

Previous Page: Nesting Frames

Page 1: Using Frames	Page 5: Targeting Content
Page 2: Frames vs. Tables	Page 6: Nesting Frames
Page 3: Frame Tags	Page 7: Common Frame Design Problems
Page 4: Building Frames