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WebAlias Frequently Asked Questions
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5. Hiding Your Website's Address with Frames
a. Why would I want to hide my website's address?
b. What are the side-effects of using frames to hide my website's address?
c. What are the limitations of using frames to hide my website's address?
d. What happens with browsers that don't support frames?

5. Hiding Your Website's Address with Frames
a. Why would I want to hide my website's address?
We believe that once you use your WebAlias, you'll realize that today's internet addressing system has already become outdated and inadequate for an ever-growing, increasingly user-friendly internet. We feel that you'll want to promote your WebAlias and reduce your visitors' reliance on your internet address. One way to do that is to hide your address completely and instead display your WebAlias.

But the more important reason why you would want to hide your internet address has to do with the bookmarking of your site by your visitors. If you hide your internet address, when people bookmark your site, they will actually be bookmarking your WebAlias.

This gives you two big benefits: first, people who use that bookmark will always reenter your site from the starting page your WebAlias points to and not somewhere deep within your website; and second, if you reorganize or even move your website, those bookmarks will never lead to invalid or outdated links.

b. What are the side-effects of using frames to hide my website's address?
When people click on links they find on your website, they will remain within the frame that hides your website's address. This is what you probably want for links to other places within your website, but for links to other sites, you may want that site's address to become visible. The way to allow people to "break out" of the frame is to add either of the following HTML code to your webpage:

  • Add <BASE TARGET = "_top"> to the <HEAD> section of each HTML document on your website. This sets the default for all links on that page so that people will "break out" from the frame that hides your address when they click on any hyperlink on that page; OR
  • Add target="_top" to each individual hyperlink that you want to "break out" the visitor from this frame. This is the way to go if you have some links that you don't want to remove the frame that hides your address and some links that you do (like those pointing to other sites).

Also, when frames are used with certain browsers, the BACK button may not operate as expected. In these rare situations, right-clicking the mouse usually will bring up the option of BACK IN FRAME, which will have the desired effect.

c. What are the limitations of using frames to hide my website's address?
Most browsers that support frames also allow the user to "break out" of the frame by displaying the frame in a new window. When the user selects this option, your address will no longer be hidden and the related benefits lost. Also, in most frames-compatible browsers, the user can "View Page Info", which will likely allow them to see your internet address.

d. What happens with browsers that don't support frames?
With non-frames-compatible browsers, your internet address will appear in the normal fashion and none of the benefits of hiding your address will apply.

Previous Topic: Information About You and Your WebsiteFAQ ContentsNext Topic: Access Restrictions

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