lecture 10: accessibility

Not every browser is set up to view frames. You therefore need to allow for those users who will not be able to see your site in its full glory. This is relatively simple, however: it merely requires you to use the <noframes> tag properly.

Have a look at the lecture handout. You will see the <noframes> tag towards the bottom, with a few other tags nested inside it. This is what would appear on the screen if the user was unable to see frames. As you will see, there is some information about what the site is, and a link to a "frameless" version of the site. You can see the file ext_frameless.html by following this link - it will open in the second browser window.

Of course, you can't get an all-singing-and-dancing version of your site without frames - or why use them in the first place? But you are still allowing access to the same basic information, and that's what it's all about. Consider the use of the <noframes> tag obligatory, therefore.

There is a more subtle accessibility issue with frames. That is, that there is no way to open a framed site in any way other than with the predefined initial conditions. Take the example site and say I wanted to create a direct link to ext_class4.html. I could link directly to the page, but then it would appear "outside" the frameset, and this would cause problems with some of the links. But if I link to ext_frame.html that page will always open with ext_class1.html in the right-hand frame. There's simply no way round it.

Sometimes it is OK to "force" people to always look at a particular front page - maybe there's important information there, or a log-in screen. But bear in mind that's what you'll be doing when you use frames.