Are iframes considered 'bad practice'?

html iframe standards
meleyal picture meleyal · Dec 12, 2008 · Viewed 175.1k times · Source

Somewhere along the line I picked up the notion that using iframes is 'bad practice'.

Is this true? What are the pros/cons of using them?

Answer

adzm picture adzm · Dec 12, 2008

As with all technologies, it has its ups and downs. If you are using an iframe to get around a properly developed site, then of course it is bad practice. However sometimes an iframe is acceptable.

One of the main problems with an iframe has to do with bookmarks and navigation. If you are using it to simply embed a page inside your content, I think that is fine. That is what an iframe is for.

However I've seen iframes abused as well. It should never be used as an integral part of your site, but as a piece of content within a site.

Usually, if you can do it without an iframe, that is a better option. I'm sure others here may have more information or more specific examples, it all comes down to the problem you are trying to solve.

With that said, if you are limited to HTML and have no access to a backend like PHP or ASP.NET etc, sometimes an iframe is your only option.

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