Android FrameLayout Example – Usage and Best Practices

FrameLayout is one of the simplest yet powerful layout containers in Android. It is designed to block out an area on the screen to display a single item or multiple stacked views. Understanding FrameLayout is essential when building custom view hierarchies and managing overlays, fragments, and dynamic UI updates.

This guide provides a clear explanation of how to use FrameLayout effectively along with real examples and best practices.

What Is FrameLayout?

FrameLayout is a layout manager that places child views stacked on top of each other, with the most recently added view drawn on top. It is lightweight and efficient, making it ideal for:

• Simple view stacking
• Fragment containers
• Overlays (e.g., badges or floating elements)
• Basic dynamic UI updates

Unlike complex layouts such as ConstraintLayout or LinearLayout, FrameLayout does not impose positioning rules — it simply stacks views.

When to Use FrameLayout

Use FrameLayout when:

• You need to overlay views (e.g., a loading spinner over content)
• You want to host fragments dynamically
• You have simple screens with minimal UI composition
• You don’t need rigid positioning constraints

It’s not a general purpose layout for complex UI — prefer ConstraintLayout or LinearLayout for flexible designs.

Basic FrameLayout Example

Create a layout file (activity_main.xml):

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<FrameLayout
    xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:id="@+id/frameRoot"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent">

    <TextView
        android:id="@+id/tvBackground"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="match_parent"
        android:text="Background Text"
        android:gravity="center"
        android:textSize="24sp"/>

    <Button
        android:id="@+id/btnForeground"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:text="Click Me"
        android:layout_gravity="center"/>
</FrameLayout>

In this example:

• The TextView is drawn first
• The Button is drawn on top, centered by android:layout_gravity="center"

FrameLayout simply stacks the Button over the TextView.

Handling Multiple Views

When placing multiple views in FrameLayout, each additional view is placed on top of the previous one by default. This is useful for overlays:

<FrameLayout
    ...>

    <ImageView
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="match_parent"
        android:src="@drawable/sample_image"/>

    <TextView
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:text="Overlay Text"
        android:textColor="@android:color/white"
        android:textSize="18sp"
        android:layout_gravity="bottom|center_horizontal"/>
</FrameLayout>

Here the TextView appears as an overlay on the ImageView.

Using FrameLayout as Fragment Container

One of the most common real-world use cases for FrameLayout is hosting fragments:

1. Activity Layout: <FrameLayout android:id="@+id/fragmentContainer" android:layout_width="match_parent" android:layout_height="match_parent"/>
2. Replace Fragment in Code: getSupportFragmentManager() .beginTransaction() .replace(R.id.fragmentContainer, new FirstFragment()) .commit();

FrameLayout works well because fragments dynamically replace content without affecting layout complexity.

Layout Parameters with FrameLayout

FrameLayout supports standard layout parameters for position and stacking:

Example with gravity:

<Button
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:text="Bottom Right"
    android:layout_gravity="bottom|end"
    android:layout_margin="16dp"/>

This places the button at the bottom right with margin.

Best Practices

From real Android engineering experience:

• Prefer more flexible layouts for complex UI (ConstraintLayout)
• Use FrameLayout for overlays and fragment containers
• Avoid deep nesting with FrameLayout — keep hierarchy flat
• Use layout_gravity to control child placement precisely

These practices improve performance and readability.

Common Mistakes and Fixes

Issue: Views not centered
👉 Ensure you use correct gravity (e.g., center, center_horizontal)

Issue: Overlapping unpredictable views
👉 Add explicit padding/margins and use gravity attributes

Issue: Layout appears blank
👉 Confirm child view visibility and parent size

Performance Considerations

FrameLayout is lightweight because it does minimal layout calculations. However, misuse (such as deeply stacking many views) can still impact layout passes. For complex UI needs, consider ConstraintLayout or RecyclerView integrations instead.

Summary

FrameLayout is a simple yet versatile layout container in Android, suitable for:

• View stacking
• Fragment hosting
• Basic overlays

When used appropriately, it keeps your layout hierarchy efficient and your UI logic clear.