Frames avoid them like the plague. Frames are an example of a good idea gone bad. They can serve a useful function sometimes , but most of the time they clutter a site and create confusion. You probably close and go back to the page you really wanted to look at. Don't fill up a visitor's desktop with multiple windows.
Most people find pop-up screens annoying.
Enter page don't do it. Make the first page they see your home page. This is a major pet peeve of mine. DO NOT let your web designer plaster his name all over your site. If you're paying the designer to do your site, he is already getting his reward in full, so to speak.