Frames?

[Robert_Forrester]

I have heard two main arguments against frames. The first is that it looks dated and is no longer cool for any site build after 1997. The second is that search engines do not like them for some reason. While the first one is more of an opinion, does anyone know anything about search engines & frames?

[Tahadar]

Even is somehow an "old" question, I will answer on it, partially because people does not know about a few hidden facts. I will only ask you to escuse my bad english. When I'll be able to post a "legit" sig not a faked one I'll put there something like "I know my english suck, but I'm better at it than you at my language" Anyay, back to the point.

Using frames pros & cons:

Pros:
- very easy to design / manage a web page;
- very easy to use & implement;
- have a multitude of usefull functions and looks nice especially when your vistors are using IE and you changed the color of scroll bar to match the rest of the background;
- HTML friendly;
- avoid the hassle with CSS and divs.

Cons:
- PhP functions are dificult to set in different frames;
- MySQL databases simply don't work with a query in a frame and results in other;
- Google robots & indexers only reading the main frame then jump to next page/link. You have nothing to direct the poor bot to the rest of your page unless you set a link from a frame to another - wich is a bit stupid if you ask me;
- frame contents are loading in different amount of time, so you might have the surprise to see only half of webpage when your ISP forgot to feed the hamster;
- tables / divs can do the same job and are more user/robot friendly;
- according to w3.org <frame> tag is under review so in near future we might expect to see the framed sites messed up like we saw when IE5 appeared.

There might me more pros and cons but I just cant think at them right now. My personal recomandation? Avoid frames. They create a lot of issues.

Tahadar
Web design & pre-press

[HomeComputerGames]

I agree with Tahadar...
For best practices staying away from frames is recommended. There are times to use iframes but an overall frame is antiquated. Most people do not want to hinder search spiders in any way. So using frames is shooting yourself in the foot.

[mrmarco]

I can't think of the last time I ever even saw a frame.

[GregK]

World's Worst Website

[HomeComputerGames]

Originally Posted by GregK

World's Worst Website

LOL, reminds me of all of the sites in the early 90s