From: Daniel Piechnick
Hi Ryan Bruce :) The best way to use frames is to not use them at all. Search engines have problems with frames, and can't always index framed pages properly. Frames also make it harder for users to know exactly where they are on a website, as the address shown is that of the main frame of the site, not the page they're on. This also prohibits people from properly bookmarking a page of your site or linking to it. Frames are harder to manage - you have to have multiple pages per page. Sure, you can have just one "menu" page that you have to edit, but you can also do that using an "include" - in Frontpage and other editors. The main problem I find with frames though, is that they're not instantly obvious. The person has to "work out" the page before they can use it properly (What scrolls? What doesn't scroll? Which parts of the page will change when I follow a link?). It may be obvious to the site owner, but to a new visitor, it's just a janky annoyance. This is the same reason that I don't use or recommend Flash - there are no standards - every site has its own architecture, which the user has to decipher. In conclusion, all I can recommend is that you don't touch frames with a ten-foot pole. :)
