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Net Q & A
Question of the Month: November 2001
Why Should Law Firm Web Sites Avoid Frames?
Answer
There are a number of problems with using frames for web site design, but even some fairly sophisticated web site designers have yet to catch on to them.
Frames are OK in some niche situations, like designing a "guided tour" of web sites, but it is usually a mistake to use them for navigation on law firm web sites.
Many people don't know how to manipulate their browser to find a pinpoint URL for bookmarking. Because this confuses so many people, an earlier Q & A column dealt with this topic.
Frames make web sites less popular for several reasons. First, it is more difficult to promote a "framed" site. This is partly because they confuse search engines, which have a hard time indexing them. Various workarounds are possible, but it seems that most people who use frames don't know about them, or don't do the extra work that is necessary to make framed sites competitive.
Frames also make sites less popular they make it less attractive for others to build links to a site. As you know, the better search engines have begun giving heavy weight to the number of links that have been built to a site, as a proxy measure of quality. The more links to your site, the higher the probable ranking. When someone puts good material at a framed site that deserves recommendation, that puts someone people who design web sites or recommend web sites in print in a trilemma:
 | Should they give the main URL, and draft an explanation of how to navigate the site from there to find the specific relevant material? |
| Should they just give the main URL and hope that their readers will be able to find the relevant material once they get to the site? |
| Should they just ignore the site, even though it has good material? |
Alternative three is usually the most attractive.
But don't "framed" sites occasionally win awards? Of course, but this is more an illustration of the weakness of most awards programs, which tend to emphasize a glossy appearance over real-world usability, than a credible endorsement of frames.
Some people who design web sites tend to be attracted to using things that appear elegant in a technical sense, like frames. However, for law firms, real-world usability is more important, and this is where frames are weak.
MORE INFORMATION
The
famed web site usability guru Jakob Nielsen gives a partial
explanation of the problems in his book
Designing
Web Usability and in an essay at
his web site called Why
Frames Suck (Most of the Time).
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Send us your questions. We'll select the best each month and answer it here. On request, questions will be edited to conceal the questioner's identity.
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This page last revised: September 28, 2001.