HTML frame Element

The <frame> element was used in old HTML frameset documents to display another document inside a region of the browser window. It is obsolete in HTML5 and should not be used in modern pages.

Deprecated status

<frame> belonged to the old <frameset> model. Modern HTML documents use normal page structure, CSS layout and, when embedding another page is actually needed, <iframe>.

Legacy example

<frameset cols="25%,75%">
  <frame src="#">
  <frame src="content.html">
</frameset>

This example is for recognition and maintenance of old code, not for new development.

Modern alternative

<main class="layout">
  <nav>...</nav>
  <article>...</article>
</main>

.layout {
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: 16rem 1fr;
  gap: 1rem;
}

Common mistake

Do not replace every old <frame> with <iframe>. If the goal is page layout, CSS Grid or Flexbox is usually the correct replacement.

Related topics

• HTML iframe Element
• HTML frameset Element
• HTML Layout
• CSS Display