Guide to frames usage

Using frames and accessible Web sites

On the Web, frames are a method to display multiple HTML documents at once. The most popular implementation was introduced by Netscape Navigator 2.0. Unfortunately, this implementation was not backwards compatible at all; browsers that do not support it do not display anything at all! The author has to do extra work to make alternative content available. There are also several technical shortcomings with this implementation, which make frames less useful than they could be.

Despite these problems, a large number of Web sites currently uses frames. The Web Design Group believes that Web sites should be accessible by all visitors, regardless of browser, platform or configuration. This section is intended to help authors who want to use frames and to ensure that every visitor can use the site.

	Frames syntax		Implementing frames on a Website
	Guidelines for using frames		Other frames-related resources

Available material

Syntax for frames-related HTML elements.: This section gives the definition of the three frames-related HTML elements, and an introduction to the terminology used for frames.
Using frames on a Web site.: The usage section shows how the frames elements can be used to set up framesets. It includes several examples of good and bad usage of frames, and a discussion of bugs, limitations and problems that can be encountered when frames are used.
Guidelines: when to use frames.: This section provides guidelines to help deciding whether a site needs frames, and how they could be employed. Includes tips on easily creating non-frames versions.

What people think of frames

WDG statement of position with respect to frames.
Frames Suck (Most of the Time) - by Jakob Nielsen
Good and bad uses of frames - introduces some workarounds to the problems with frames.

Guide to frames usage

Using frames and accessible Web sites

Available material

What people think of frames

Further reading material