As a leading Brisbane-based marketing agency, we’ve seen it all—clients incorporating elements on their web pages that seem helpful at first glance but cause long-term problems. One common culprit? iFrames. Often used to embed external content like forms, videos, or other HTML documents, iFrames may seem like a simple solution for adding functionality to a webpage. However, their disadvantages far outweigh their benefits when it comes to modern websites.
This blog from our SEO experts dives into why iFrames are a huge no-no for digital marketers and developers alike, exploring their impact on tracking, performance, security, and user experience.
What Are iFrames, and Why Are They Used?
First, let’s start with a basic explanation. iFrames, short for inline frames, are an HTML tag used to embed one HTML document inside another. For example, an iFrame tag might be used to display a submission form, YouTube video, or a Google Map on a page without fully integrating the content into the parent document.
At first glance, this sounds great—why write complex code when you can simply link to or embed external content? But while iFrames might seem convenient, their long-term effects create inconvenient challenges down the line that just can’t be ignored.
iFrame Example: How to Check For iFrames on Your Website
Before we go any further, let’s dive into a real-world example. For some of you, you may have never even seen an iFrame in action – that’s why we’ve pulled an example.
This iFrame from one of our clients’ webpage serves as a calculator for their customers to receive a quote on their services. The problem is, there’s no way to record any time a potential customer uses it!
This can create massive gaps in the data for your business, affecting the choices you make when it comes time to market your service or product.
How Can I Tell if My Website Uses an iFrame?
To tell if your website is using an iFrame, take a look at the following steps:
1. Open the Webpage: Navigate to the page you want to inspect.
2. Use Inspect Tool: Right-click on the page and select Inspect (or press Ctrl + Shift + I / Cmd + Option + I).
3. Search for <iFrame>: In the Developer Tools panel, go to the Elements tab. Press Ctrl + F / Cmd + F, type <iFrame>, and hit Enter.
4. Review iFrame Details: Click the highlighted <iFrame> tag to see attributes like src (source URL) or width.
5. Check Content: Right-click the iFrame in Developer Tools to open it in a new tab or copy its src URL to examine its content
When that is completed, you should see its location highlighted like in the example above. Finding and analysing iFrames helps with troubleshooting, security, and optimising your website, so it’s really handy to know how to find them on your website.
Why Are iFrames Bad for Your Website?
Still not completely convinced why this design element could cost you? We’ve elaborated on 3 of the biggest issues with iFrames.
1. Tracking Issues
One of the biggest problems with iFrames is the inability to accurately track user interactions. When forms or other key components are embedded in an iFrame, tracking tools like Google Analytics often can’t log actions like form submissions or clicks within the iFrame src. This leaves businesses in the dark about their marketing performance, making it nearly impossible to determine ROI or optimise conversions.
Without clear data, how do you know if users are engaging with your site? The lack of visibility makes iFrames a poor choice for modern marketing strategies.
2. Security Risks
iFrames pose significant security risks to your website. Since they load external resources, they can act as an entry point for malicious attacks. Hackers can use them to steal data, inject harmful JavaScript, or exploit the same-origin policy, which is designed to prevent one website from accessing resources on another without permission.
Even when precautions like the sandbox attribute or CSP directives are implemented, vulnerabilities remain. If you embed an external application and the source becomes compromised, your site—and your users—could be at risk.
3. User Experience Challenges
User experience is everything in digital marketing, and iFrames often lead to a subpar experience. Embedded content frequently fails to adapt to different screen sizes, causing display issues on mobile devices. Text alignment, navigation problems, and poorly optimised iFrame elements can frustrate users, driving them away from your site.
Additionally, iFrames can slow down page load speeds because they require separate HTTP requests to fetch the external content. In today’s digital landscape, where users expect web pages to load almost instantly, this delay can harm engagement and rankings.
How iFrames Impact SEO
Using iFrames on your website can negatively affect SEO. Search engines like Google struggle to crawl iFrame content, meaning it may not be indexed or contribute to your site’s rankings. For instance, if you embed a video via an iFrame, the content of the video won’t directly boost your page’s visibility in search results, as the title, description, and other metadata are attributed to the hosting platform, not your page.
Moreover, poorly implemented iFrames can slow down your site, increasing bounce rates—a factor Google considers in its ranking algorithm. This is absolutely not ideal for any business. It is important to remember that everything on your website could have an impact on your SEO. If you’re thinking of updating your website for any reason, read our article on SEO migrations to stay ranking high!
Alternatives to Using iFrames
1. Embed Content Directly into the HTML Page
Instead of relying on iFrames, integrate the desired HTML content directly into your current HTML document. This approach ensures that the embedded content is fully accessible for tracking, security protocols, and design consistency.
2. Use APIs for External Applications
Many modern platforms provide APIs that allow you to pull in data or functionality without the downsides of iFrames. APIs are safer, more efficient, and give you greater control over how external resources are displayed and interact with your site.
3. Leverage Modern JavaScript Frameworks
Newer websites can utilise frameworks like React and Angular, to allow for the dynamic embedding of content while avoiding the security and tracking pitfalls associated with iFrames. They enable seamless integration of components while maintaining performance and user experience.
4. Opt for Responsive Embedding
If you need to embed videos or other external content, ensure it’s fully responsive and optimised for mobile devices. Instead of relying on iFrames, use elements like the embed tag or object tag, which offer more flexibility and customisation.
I Have an IFrame on My Website, What Should I Do?
Not all hope is lost! If you have an iFrame on your website there is still a relatively simple short-term solution that you can implement. By redirecting users to a thank you or submission page after they complete a form submission on the iFrame, you can then track the users who visited that website – thus not losing any precious tracking data!
Even in this scenario, it’s essential to remember that this is not a long-term fix, you should always consider alternatives whenever possible. In short, it’s best to just avoid iFrames completely wherever you can to avoid dealing with all of the associated inconveniences and ensure a secure website for your business.
Don’t Lose Data – Ditch the iFrame
In a world where websites need to be fast, secure, and user-friendly, iFrames simply don’t cut it. They compromise tracking, security, and user experience—three pillars of successful digital marketing. By leaving businesses blind to user interactions, posing serious security risks and offering a subpar user experience, they have no business being on your website. Moreover, they can negatively impact SEO by hindering content indexing and slowing down your site. For more information on how to optimise your website, have a read of our blog on Core Web Vitals.
Transform your site into a tool that works as hard as you do! Contact Springboard Digital today for expert advice and marketing solutions tailored to your business.
