Frames became official in 1997 with the adoption of HTML version 3.2. When there are a large number of categories, frames allow an index or Table of Contents to be displayed at all times for the user. Users can quickly view items on the list and jump back to an individual category list or select a new category. Frames work well to display photo thumbnails and larger photos. A common use of frames is to display the thumbnail in a side frame and update the right hand body frame as users click on the thumbnail to display it.
Frames can work well to display questions and answers.
A side by side frame design can allow a question to be posed on one side, and answers displayed on the other side of the same page. One unified page. A single page as the base unit on the web has always been the grounding in web design. Frames are in conflict with this simple, fundamental concept. Frames force the viewer to see information on the screen in a sequence of navigation tasks, rather than a single navigation task.