A few weeks ago, I was working on a React dashboard for a U.S.-based marketing analytics platform. One of the key requirements was to embed third-party widgets, like ad previews and live analytics, without affecting the main app’s styling or scripts. That’s when I turned to the React Frame Component.
This nifty tool lets you render your React components inside an iframe while still maintaining React’s reactivity and context. It’s a clean, secure way to isolate parts of your UI without losing interactivity.
In this tutorial, I’ll walk you through how to use the React Frame Component, from installation to advanced customization. I’ll also share some practical examples I’ve personally used in production projects.
What is React Frame Component?
The React Frame Component is an open-source library created by Ryan Seddon. It allows you to render React components inside an iframe seamlessly.
Unlike traditional iframes, this component preserves React’s context, styling, and event handling between the parent app and the iframe content.
In simpler terms, you can think of it as a “React-friendly iframe” that behaves just like any other React component.
Use React Frame Component
Here are a few common scenarios where I’ve found it incredibly useful:
- Embedding external widgets: For instance, showing a live preview of a client’s ad campaign without CSS conflicts.
- Sandboxing UI: When working with user-generated content that might break your main layout.
- Styling isolation: Keeping your iframe’s styles separate from the parent app’s global CSS.
Method 1 – Install and Set Up React Frame Component
Let’s start by installing the library. Open your terminal in the root directory of your React project and run:
npm install react-frame-componentOr, if you’re using Yarn:
yarn add react-frame-componentOnce installed, you can import it directly into your component file:
import React from "react";
import Frame from "react-frame-component";
function App() {
return (
<div>
<h1>Main App Interface</h1>
<Frame>
<h2>This content is rendered inside an iframe!</h2>
</Frame>
</div>
);
}
export default App;You can see the output in the screenshot below.
This simple setup shows how the <Frame> component wraps its children and renders them inside an iframe. The content inside the <Frame> tag is isolated from the parent but still behaves like a normal React component.
Method 2 – Add Custom Styles to the Iframe
One of the best parts about using the React Frame Component is that you can inject custom styles directly into the iframe’s document head.
Here’s how to do it:
import React from "react";
import Frame, { FrameContextConsumer } from "react-frame-component";
function StyledFrame() {
const frameStyle = `
body {
font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
background-color: #f8f9fa;
padding: 20px;
}
h2 {
color: #007bff;
}
`;
return (
<Frame head={<style>{frameStyle}</style>}>
<FrameContextConsumer>
{({ document }) => (
<div>
<h2>Styled Content Inside Iframe</h2>
<p>This text has custom styles applied inside the iframe.</p>
</div>
)}
</FrameContextConsumer>
</Frame>
);
}
export default StyledFrame;You can see the output in the screenshot below.
By passing a <style> element to the head prop of the <Frame> component, you can define styles that apply only inside the iframe. This ensures your iframe content looks exactly how you want without affecting the parent page.
Method 3 – Share Context Between Parent and Iframe
A common question I get from developers is: Can I share React context or state between the parent and the iframe? Yes, you can! The React Frame Component supports context propagation seamlessly.
Here’s a complete example:
import React, { createContext, useContext } from "react";
import Frame, { FrameContextConsumer } from "react-frame-component";
const ThemeContext = createContext("light");
function FrameWithContext() {
return (
<ThemeContext.Provider value="dark">
<div>
<h1>Parent Component</h1>
<Frame>
<FrameContextConsumer>
{() => <ChildComponent />}
</FrameContextConsumer>
</Frame>
</div>
</ThemeContext.Provider>
);
}
function ChildComponent() {
const theme = useContext(ThemeContext);
return <p>The current theme inside iframe is: {theme}</p>;
}
export default FrameWithContext;You can see the output in the screenshot below.
The <Frame> component automatically propagates React context into the iframe. This means your child components inside the iframe can access the same context values as those outside it, perfect for maintaining consistent themes or user data.
Method 4 – Load External CSS or Scripts Inside the Iframe
Sometimes, you may want to load external resources like Bootstrap or Font Awesome inside the iframe.
You can easily do that using the head prop again:
import React from "react";
import Frame from "react-frame-component";
function ExternalResourcesFrame() {
return (
<Frame
head={
<>
<link
rel="stylesheet"
href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/[email protected]/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css"
/>
</>
}
>
<div className="p-3">
<h3 className="text-primary">Bootstrap Inside Iframe</h3>
<button className="btn btn-success">Click Me</button>
</div>
</Frame>
);
}
export default ExternalResourcesFrame;By linking an external stylesheet inside the iframe’s head, you can use third-party libraries like Bootstrap or Tailwind without affecting your main app. This is especially useful for embedding styled previews or forms.
Method 5 – Handle Events Between Parent and Iframe
You might need to communicate between the parent and the iframe—for example, sending a message when a button is clicked inside the iframe.
Here’s how I usually handle it:
import React, { useRef } from "react";
import Frame from "react-frame-component";
function ParentToIframeCommunication() {
const iframeRef = useRef();
const sendMessage = () => {
iframeRef.current.node.contentWindow.postMessage("Hello from parent!", "*");
};
return (
<div>
<h2>Parent Component</h2>
<button onClick={sendMessage}>Send Message to Iframe</button>
<Frame ref={iframeRef}>
<iframeContent />
</Frame>
</div>
);
}
function iframeContent() {
React.useEffect(() => {
window.addEventListener("message", (e) => {
alert(`Message received inside iframe: ${e.data}`);
});
}, []);
return <p>Waiting for a message from the parent...</p>;
}
export default ParentToIframeCommunication;This example shows how you can use the postMessage API to send data from the parent to the iframe. It’s a great way to enable communication while keeping the environments isolated.
Real-World Example – Embed a Live Ad Preview
Here’s a practical example I built for a U.S. advertising client. They needed a live ad preview that updated in real time as users edited their ad copy.
import React, { useState } from "react";
import Frame from "react-frame-component";
function AdPreview() {
const [headline, setHeadline] = useState("Your Perfect Product");
const [description, setDescription] = useState("Get it delivered anywhere in the U.S.");
return (
<div style={{ display: "flex", gap: "20px" }}>
<div>
<h3>Edit Your Ad</h3>
<input
type="text"
value={headline}
onChange={(e) => setHeadline(e.target.value)}
placeholder="Ad Headline"
/>
<textarea
value={description}
onChange={(e) => setDescription(e.target.value)}
placeholder="Ad Description"
/>
</div>
<Frame
head={
<style>
{`
body { font-family: Arial; padding: 20px; background: #f4f4f4; }
h4 { color: #007bff; }
p { color: #333; }
`}
</style>
}
>
<div>
<h4>{headline}</h4>
<p>{description}</p>
</div>
</Frame>
</div>
);
}
export default AdPreview;This example demonstrates how you can use React state to dynamically update iframe content. It’s ideal for live previews or sandboxed editing environments.
Tips for Using React Frame Component Effectively
- Keep styles modular: Always define iframe styles inside the head prop to avoid CSS leaks.
- Use context wisely: Pass down only the necessary context values to reduce re-renders.
- Optimize performance: Avoid heavy computations inside the iframe, render only what’s necessary.
- Test cross-browser behavior: Iframes can behave differently across browsers, so always test thoroughly.
When I first started using the React Frame Component, I underestimated how powerful it could be for isolating complex UI modules. Over time, it became one of my go-to tools for building secure, modular, and maintainable React applications.
If you frequently work with embedded content or want to prevent style collisions, this component is a must-have in your toolkit.
The React Frame Component offers a clean, flexible way to encapsulate your UI inside an iframe without sacrificing React’s power. Whether you’re building ad previews, sandbox editors, or third-party widgets, this tool can make your development process smoother and more predictable
So next time you need to isolate part of your UI, give react-frame-component a try, you might wonder how you ever built without it.
You may also like to read other articles on React:
- Explain Tabs Component in React
- React Component Testing Best Practices
- Convert SVG to React Component
- React Function Components with TypeScript
I am Bijay Kumar, a Microsoft MVP in SharePoint. Apart from SharePoint, I started working on Python, Machine learning, and artificial intelligence for the last 5 years. During this time I got expertise in various Python libraries also like Tkinter, Pandas, NumPy, Turtle, Django, Matplotlib, Tensorflow, Scipy, Scikit-Learn, etc… for various clients in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, etc. Check out my profile.
