Everything you need to know about HTML iFrame

Everything you need to know about iFrame

The term iFrame stands for ‘Inline Frame’, it is a powerful web design tool. You’ve certainly noticed a flurry of YouTube videos that have been uploaded to sites other than YouTube. Any sort of material can be included in an iFrame.

You’re undoubtedly curious as to how it’s done. On that page, the site designer may have used an iFrame element.
In this article, we will look more thoroughly at iFrame and how to use it, as well as explore other things to think about before inserting an iFrame in an HTML document.

What is an iFrame?

An “iFrame” is an HTML document that may be embedded in another HTML document. You can use iframe in HTML to embed content from other websites, such as YouTube or Vimeo Video, Google Maps, and so on, on your pages.

HTML iframes can be configured to have their own scrollbar, apart from the parent page’s scrolling. In essence, it works in the same way as an inline-image.

Google Maps and streaming sites such as YouTube and Vimeo both employ iFrames. iFrames are also used in web page advertisements.

An iFrame is a sort of HTML element that allows you to embed documents, movies, and interactive media on your website. This allows you to display a supplementary webpage on your main page.
You can incorporate content from other websites using the iFrame element. It can include the material wherever on your page without requiring it to be included in the structure of your web layout, like a standard element would.

How To Create Responsive Iframes

Here is the simple example of the iFrame :

This code will insert the homepage of Bytes Techolab into its parent page. In terms of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code, this iFrame exists independently of the parent page.

Let’s have a look at the feature that makes iFrame easier to use.

1. Allow: Define the characteristics that the iFrame is permitted to use. Fullscreen and autoplay are two examples.

2. Allow full screen: Allow the iframe to be displayed in full-screen mode.

3. Height: Define the iframe’s height. The height is set to 150 pixels by default.

4. Width: Define the iframe’s width. The width is set to 300 pixels by default.

5. Loading: Used to specify whether the iframe should be lazy or eagerly loaded.

6. Referrer policy: Define the information that should be supplied in the iframe request.

7. Src: Define the address of the resource included within the iframe.

Benefits of iframe:

• Iframes allow displaying the complete embedded web page.
• If you have a number of pages that reference an iframe, you only need to update the iframe content, and then you may change every page content that you call, which is convenient and fast.
• To unify & modify the style of a web page’s header and version, it can be written as a page nested within an iframe, which can increase code reusability.
• If you see slow-loading & low-performing third-party content, such as icons and advertisements, an iframe can assist you.

The disadvantages of Iframe

• There will be a big number of pages generated, which will be tough to handle.
• The Iframe frame structure can be perplexing at times. If there are many frames, there may be up and down, left and right scrollbars, which can distract visitors’ attention and result in a poor user experience.
• The code is complicated and cannot be indexed by some search engines, which is crucial. Because current search engine crawlers are incapable of dealing with iframe content, using iframe will not aid in search engine optimization.
• Many mobile devices (PDA phones) are unable to display the frame properly, and device compatibility is limited.
• Iframe framework pages will increase HTTP queries to the server, which is not recommended for large websites.

Security Alerts

If your website utilizes the iFrame element, it may constitute a security risk. An iFrame, as we all know, embeds another HTML document into your webpage. This feature allows third-party material to be included.
Your website could be infected with viruses or worms. As a result, when inserting an iFrame from an untrusted website, you must proceed with caution. If you believe the content of a website is harmful, do not incorporate it on your website.

Wrapping up

Finally, responsive iFrames are an excellent tool for increasing visitor interaction. It is better, though, if you can create your site without using an iFrame. If you must use it for development, make certain that you only use content from trusted websites.