Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Don't get framed into using frames!



Building or Having a Website Designed for you?
 This is a must read article!



WHAT ARE FRAMES?
 
Frame setting is combining several html pages in one browser window.

The common frameset is a stationary html web page that stays put while you scroll through another html web page.

Each frame is actually a separate web page. A frameset is a grouping of web pages with the same or different functions.

Example: One frame for navigation buttons on the left side, one frame to display a banner across the top, and a collection of separate pages that the navigation buttons bring up into the main page frame.

A well planned frameset can be appear to be an excellent online website choice. It looks great and the navigation button frame stays put when you scroll. Looks pretty, right?


SO WHY DON'T I LIKE FRAMES?

Frames in my opinion are for in-house company websites and for exclusive audiences.

If you are taking the time, effort, and expense that it takes to be a member of the world wide web; you are most likely doing it to get some attention.

If you want to get a message out, sell a product, or inform a wide viewing audience, then do not use frames.

The biggest problem for frames is SEARCH ENGINE TROUBLES.

Search engines and frames do not work well together. The search engines don't know what frame to include in their index.

And my biggest gripe is that frames prevent search engines from finding other pages within a framed website. Search engines mostly index the home page and that is it.

IRRITATING REASONS for not liking frames are numerous.

Frames disable the URL addressing process, making book marking impossible.

Book marking requires that your browser know what the URL address is, of the page you want to bookmark.

A frameset usually displays at all times the URL of the initial state; which is in most cases is the index page of the website. The page you think you are book marking is actually hidden in the frameset.

In simple terms...Julie wants to book mark your products. She saves your framed site to her favorites and when she comes back later to click on your book marked page, she finds herself back on your index page.

Julie does not see the products she thought she had book marked, instead she sees your index page and now realized she has to search your site again for the products she thought she had book marked. Julie is not happy and will never book mark your site again.

Equally Irritating
You can not recommend a page via email. So Jackie decides to send an email message to Joanne with the recommendation to check out the products on a page in your framed website.

Copying the URL address from the browser address field to send to Joanne creates the same results. Joanne is not happy and will dismiss your site as baffling.

Most browsers cannot print framed pages correctly. Selecting File: Print will end up printing a single frame.

Preview and select what fames you want printed will not be easy if the page you want to print is a scrolling frame.

So now a viewer can't even print a copy of your products to show to Aunt Lucy,who does not own a computer.

You have just lost sales, because your site is not user friendly. Still want your pretty looking framed website?

Frames are not supported by all browsers, some browsers can't read frames. Oops you lost a few more customers.

Most studies out there on the big wide web, tell us that most viewers prefer straight HTML websites, rather then framed html paged websites.

You sell crafts in frames and Kathy sells the same crafts, but she uses html pages. Guess where most of your potential customers are going to go.

Framed sites are commonly slow loading, because a frameset web page consists of several web pages in frames, it takes longer to load than a single html page.

I do not stick around for slow loading pages, and most of the world does not stand still for your frames to load. There are a lot more sites just like yours in html format that load faster.

OK OK OK I know I can go on and on about this subject. So don't take my word for it... check out what the rest of the world thinks. Put "Frames Pros and Cons" in your favorite search engine and read what others have to say.

My questions to you are...

DO YOU WANT TO GET NOTICED BY SEARCH ENGINES?

DO YOU WANT TO SELL PRODUCTS ONLINE?

DO YOU WANT TO BE VIEWED AS FRIENDLY?

Then don't get framed into using frames!





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Best wishes online... Kind regards, JP