[WEB4LIB] Using framesets

[Thomas Dowling]

> I am seeking pros and cons on using creating frames (or framesets) for a
> website.  Not all web pages on the site will be in a frame, but most.
> Included in each frame is a content page and a header/banner with the
> college logo.

[Is it time for the annual frames debate already?]

You're the one considering frames:  what problem do you want them to
solve?

Pros: frames may not actually be evil--they just appear that way.

Cons: frames screw around with the fundamental web idea of attaching one
unique identifier to each unique resource; the frameset URL effectively
screens out the URLs for each contentful page the user is really
interested in.  This ties in pretty directly with the chronic "What do you
really want me to do?" problems browsers have when it comes to
bookmarking, saving, or printing framesets, and also with problems getting
framed pages indexed in many search engines.

Further cons: if you want, or are required, to adhere to accessibility
standards that look anything like the WCAG, you are obligated to provide
full functionality in NOFRAMES elements for each frameset.  Depending on
your site design, this could make for a lot of duplication of effort.

Still further cons: people who write pages expecting them to be framed too
often leave out any navigational options.  If a user ever takes an
unexpected path and ends viewing that page outside its frameset, it
becomes a dead end.

Doubleplusgood developments: the one semi-convincing argument I know for
frames is providing consistent, non-scrolling navigational links.  IMO,
this is a poor man's version of a real LINK implementation, and it looks
like Mozilla will finally offer a browser that supports LINK (though
possibly not Netscape 6.0...I'm unclear on what branches of the Mozilla
tree will and won't have which features).


Thomas ("Of course, it was there in Lynx all along") Dowling
OhioLINK - Ohio Library and Information Network
tdowling at ohiolink.edu