[thelist] Alternatives to Frames? (was: Jumping In With Both Feet, Part 2

joseph gannon ganemanrussell at yahoo.com
Thu Dec 13 16:24:13 CST 2001


Mark

Although I dont recommend the use of frames in most
instances, I have some seen some implemetations that
make more sense to me than others. 

http://www.hotwired.com/  uses the frame for the ad
that appears at the bottom of the page. 

One of the things I don't like about frames is that
the URL never changes if you use the same frameset
throughout the site.

But, I have seen some sites that change the frameset
for each top level content. That way, the URL's
change. (Lotus had this design about 6 months ago
until they updated their site.

I worked on a site that used frames, and while it was
easy to maintain, users had problems. For example,
when we a new navigation element to the left
navigation bar, we used noscroll. That was fine for
users with a monitor setting of 800x600..but our
company used 640x480, and the new content category got
pushed below the viewing screen. (call it dumb
implementation..or some would say a dumb user who uses
640x480..remember though the user is ALWAYS right. )
The IT department determines the default screen
resolution, and some users probably dont know how to
change it, or dont want to.

Yes there are arguments for and against them.
Nielsen's latest tome shows that only 4% used frames.
I'd suggest that since the number is so low, and based
on my experience, don't use frames.

73

Joe

--- Marc Seyon <seyon at delime.com> wrote:
> At 12/13/2001 01:00 PM, you wrote:
> >Chad:
> >
> >I used to use frames extensively. The biggest thing
> that changed my mind was
> >a usability thing - a framed site's title is the
> title of the frameset
> >document, not the piece that changes. So, when I'm
> looking through my
> >history for that certain page, they're all named
> 'Welcome to Barney's
> >Beanery' instead of 'Hot As Hades Chili Recipe'
> which is what I wanted. So
> >now, I have to click back thru eleven pages to
> figure out which was the one
> >I wanted.
> >
> > > At the risk of opening up a can of worms, I'd be
> > > interested to hear opinions on the use of frames
> in a
> > > website,
> 
> Relatedly, word of mouth can be one of the most
> popular promotional tools 
> for your site. Without frames it's a lot easier for
> Person A to come 'Hot 
> As Hades Chili Recipe' nested deep in your site and
> email the URL to 
> Persons B, C, D, etc.
> 
> Whenever I come across a site using frames, unless
> the content is REALLY 
> important and the person I want to pass it on to is
> REALLY web-savvy, it 
> doesn't get passed on. Cause I'd have to say
> something like "Go to 
> [Barney's Beanery], click Culture, look for recipes,
> scroll way down till 
> you reach the H's..."
> 
> Usually easier to go look for something similar or
> identical on google. 
> Then the other frames-less site gets the plug.
> 
> regards.
> -marc
> 
> 
> -- 
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