Optimising Your Framed Site For Search Engines

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Optimizing Your Framed Site for Search Engines


Introduction


While the use of frames in website design has diminished with the rise of CSS, some sites still employ framesets for structuring content. However, using frames can lead to significant challenges in getting indexed by search engines. If your site relies on frames, understanding these issues and knowing how to overcome them is crucial.

The Challenge with Frames


Historically, frames allowed designers to display multiple HTML documents on a single page, improving the site's structure with elements like navigation bars. The "frameset" HTML tag controls which pages are shown and their display characteristics. Despite these advantages, frames present problems for search engine indexing and user navigation.

Usability Concerns


Web usability expert Jakob Nielsen highlights several issues with frames:

- Disorientation: Clicking within one frame affecting another can confuse users.
- Static Address Bar: The URL doesn’t update as users navigate, leading to confusion.
- Loading Time: Multiple pages loading simultaneously can slow down the site, driving visitors away.
- Bookmarking Issues: Bookmarked pages direct users to the default frameset, not the specific page they saved.

Indexing Problems


Search engines index pages by following HTML links, but frames reference pages rather than linking to them. This means that the inner pages of a framed site might not get indexed, limiting visibility to just the frameset page.

Solutions


To tackle these issues, consider the following approaches:

Using the "noframes" Tag


Insert a "noframes" tag within your frameset page to provide alternative content for non-frame-compatible browsers. This tag allows search engines to read and index your page like a standard site. Include normal links here to help search engines spider your site effectively. For more details on the "noframes" tag, visit [W3Schools](http://www.w3schools.com/tags/tag_noframes.asp).

Avoiding Orphan Pages


If a direct link to an internal page is accessed, it may display as an "orphan" page, lacking context like navigation bars. Use JavaScript to ensure these pages load within their intended framed context. Although this may pose issues for JavaScript-incompatible browsers, it effectively addresses the orphan page dilemma. A comprehensive tutorial is available at [WebReference](http://www.webreference.com/js/column36/forcing.html).

Alternatives to Frames


To avoid complications, consider alternatives that offer similar functionality:

- Cascading Style Sheets (CSS): Position elements on a page without using frames.
- Server Side Includes (SSI): Ideal for dynamic sites, allowing for seamless page updates.

Conclusion


While frames can still be used effectively with some adjustments, it's often better to avoid them due to the complexities they introduce. Using CSS or SSI offers a more modern and efficient approach, enhancing both usability and search engine optimization.

You can find the original non-AI version of this article here: Optimising Your Framed Site For Search Engines.

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