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Learn iframe with online courses and programs

With an understanding of code and iframe HTML tags, you can add maps, social buttons, trackable ads, and more to your websites. Learn iframe with online courses delivered through edX.

What is an iframe?

An iframe, short for “inline frame,” is a web element that loads an external HTML element onto a webpage. The code in an iframe can embed content from any source or website. For instance, you can write iframe HTML code that allows you to insert a PDF document, advertisement, interactive Google map, Facebook “like” button, payment gateway, or YouTube video onto your site. Developers like using iframes because doing so allows them to add an independent HTML document that retains its own attributes and remains separate from the main JavaScript and CSS of the parent page.1

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iframe course curriculum

Creating and using iframes leverages basic internet navigation skills. An eagerness to grow your coding skills can also help in that process.

In an HTML/CSS course where the focus is on building attractive, functional websites, you can learn how to use iframe. More specifically, you can develop the skill set to build user-friendly interfaces that contain simple yet responsive forms and elements that keep visitors engaged for extended periods of time. Through an iframe tutorial, you may also learn how to incorporate interactive elements on your pages while retaining clean parent site code. Experienced web developers with HTML and CSS mastery may enroll in an online iframe course to practice using it as part of their day-to-day duties and grow an understanding of indexing content, user interface improvement, debugging, code oversight, and SEO.

edX offers a variety of educational pathways, including boot camps as well as bachelor's degree programs and master’s degree programs, for learners interested in advancing their knowledge in a variety of subjects. Find the right course for you.

Explore jobs that use iframes

Learners who develop an understanding of how to use iframes may apply their new knowledge in a number of job roles, including:

  • Search engine optimization specialist: Determine how iframe HTML code impacts website searchability and performance.
  • Web developer: Add style, functionality, and interactivity to your websites.
  • Web programmer: Develop and plan a website’s execution by focusing on code and design specifications.

Even if your ambition is to become a software developer, it’s handy to know how to create an iframe, as web coding and design projects may be stepping stones to careers in software development.

How to use iframes as a programmer

What can you do once you have acquired this knowledge? There are many use cases for iframes. For instance, Facebook encourages third-party applications to be hosted in iframes to help prevent malicious activity.2 Ad networks may offer publishers iframe code to drop onto their websites to display a banner.

If you are interested in adding new skills to your resume, explore how online learning opportunities such as a coding boot camp or a bachelor’s degree in computer science can help you build the expertise and experience you need to pursue roles in this field.

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    Frequently Asked Questions

    What are iframes used for?

    There are many cases where you might want to share external media while keeping visitors on your webpage rather than linking to a third-party website. iframes let you seamlessly incorporate external media on your website while keeping the code separate. iframes embed videos, documents, social media feeds, maps, interactive games, and advertisements. These elements have defined borders and may have their own scrollbars. While GIFs and images are static, a fully embedded iframe allows for scripting, so you can make your element interactive or track ad impressions.

    What is an example of an iframe?

    The HTML <iframe> tag specifies an inline frame. To give you a specific iframe example, a snippet of code might allow you to embed a Google map. So, why might it be handy to isolate an element from your JavaScript and CSS? Well, in another application, a developer might want users to have the ability to create and save emails based on preview templates. In order to preview the template documents, all with their own unique styles, the developer choses iframe code as the cleanest solution.

    What is the difference between iframe and an embed?

    Embed serves the same purpose as iframe code, only with fewer attributes. For instance, the embed HTML 5 tag defines height, source, type, and width attributes, and can be used for Flash animations and browser plugins. iframe HTML tags, on the other hand, can define all this, as well as more advanced attributes like alignment, frame border, long description, margin height and width, name, sandbox navigation, and scrollbars.

    What programming language is an iframe?

    An iframe is a type of HTML code, supported by all major web browsers and included in the latest HTML 5 specifications. HTML is not a programming language; it’s a markup language used to specify a document’s structure, organization, and layout. By contrast, programming languages like C#, JavaScript, or Python write functions, contain conditional logic, and store or manipulate data. You can write iframe HTML tags into your programming language code of choice.

    Is iframe a CSS or HTML tag?

    iframe is an HTML tag, which can include CSS properties. Developers can use several different methods to add CSS to an iframe. They can: use internal CSS inside the iframe tag; use the internal CSS for the iframe tag inside the HTML file; use external CSS for the iframe tag by creating a different file for the CSS code and including it in the HTML file using link and href tags before the iframe tag; or use JavaScript code to add the CSS file link at the head of the HTML document.

    What’s the difference between an HTML frame and an iframe?

    While an HTML frame and an iframe will both embed a resource directly into another webpage, there are differences worth noting. Due to responsivity and accessibility issues, HTML frames are no longer supported in HTML 5. The iframe element, on the other hand, is supported in HTML 5, so it’s worth learning as a workaround solution.

    1. . (2023). Mozilla. Retrieved February 6, 2023.

    2. Embeds. (n.d.). Meta. Retrieved February 7, 2023.

    Last updated February 2023