What is iFrames?
iFrames are used to import another site’s content into your site. WordPress is an extremely versatile content management system (CMS) and has multiple import systems, like iFrame and Embed, to name a few.
To avoid copyright infringement and reduce the excess load on their web server, webmasters prefer using iFrames.
How does iFrame work?
An iFrame or inline frame parses content from its source website/server when the web browser processes it. It calls the source content (video in most cases) and displays it within the designated section of your webpage.
iFrame will only display the content that it is linked to within the section of your website. Your web server will neither download the content nor will it process it. The content within the iFrame will run from the host server.
It is particularly useful when you want to keep your and the source site’s contents separate and do not want to compromise the security of either of the websites.
An Example scenario for iFrame usage:
You have written a perfect guide on “How to install WordPress on your web server?” but it can be further enhanced and made even more effective with a video. You sit down and create a step-by-step video tutorial on the same process only to find out the 25 minutes video you created is 1GB in size.
Your own server has limited storage, processing, and bandwidth resources. When you upload that video to your server and a visitor wishes to load that page, it strains your server — often causing it to fail to load or load very slow. You start losing visitors even though your content is better than anyone else’s.
What do you do? You utilize the power of YouTube’s servers. YouTube’s servers are more powerful than any other platform on the Internet. Upload your video guide to YouTube and using iFrame, make it to be loaded within your article on your page.
With the “text content” stored on your website and “video content” pulled from YouTube, your server has to process and display the text content only. Text content is light, and it will result in your webpage loading at lightning-fast speed while the heavy, high-definition video will be loaded from YouTube.
A faster site helps retain visitors, and site speed is also a search engine ranking factor. Without spending a dime on purchasing extra resources to process heavy videos on your server, you are not only displaying the video from YouTube but end up with a faster than ever website as well.
Can iFrame compromise the security of your site?
Yes, an iFrame from an unknown source can definitely compromise the control and security of your website. Many hackers use the iFrame to infiltrate your website, using it as a backdoor to access your website. Be very careful when you use an iFrame from any other source and try to always download and use iFrame from the source site yourself. Like, if you need to embed a video from YouTube, generate the required iFrame from YouTube yourself and do not copy it from any other site or source.
How to use iFrame with WordPress?
Like every other functionality offered by WordPress, using iFrame in WordPress is as easy as writing a simple text in your next post or on your new page. If you are using the “Classic Editor,” copy the iFrame code from the source and paste it within your post or page where you want it to be displayed. Similarly, to use iFrame with a Gutenberg editor, utilize the “HTML block” to paste the source code into your page or blog post. It’s that easy!