How to show google.com in an iframe?

Alternatives and workarounds

Even though direct embedding of google.com is impossible, there exist viable alternatives you might find handy:

Use Google Custom Search

You can create an integrated Google Custom Search engine to display search results on your site:

<gcse:search></gcse:search>
<script async src="https://cse.google.com/cse.js?cx=YOUR_CUSTOM_SEARCH_ENGINE_ID"></script>
<!-- "I'm feeling lucky", said the developer using this workaround -->


Remember to replace YOUR_CUSTOM_SEARCH_ENGINE_ID with your custom ID obtained from Google Custom Search.

Set up a Proxy Server

While controversial, setting up a reverse proxy using tools like Nginx or Apache might allow you to display content from google.com. This setup acts as an intermediary, but it might raise legal implications and violations of terms of service.

<!-- The one ring to rule them all? More like the one nginx rule to fetch them all, eh? -->

Leverage an alternative Google URL

You might be able to load https://www.google.com/search?igu=1 within an iframe. Nonetheless, don't consider it foolproof; its functionality depends on Google's policies and could change unexpectedly.

Use YQL to load content

The Yahoo! Query Language (YQL) can fetch and display external HTML content inside an iframe. To make the fetched content function correctly, don't forget to add a base href:

<base href="https://www.google.com">
<!-- Avoiding relative URL confusion like a boss -->


Note that you might need to handle how links operate inside YQL-loaded content — you may need scripts for this purpose.

Know your limits

While we developers love a good workaround, it's essential to understand the legalities and ethical implications involved in using these tricks. Skirting around a site's security measures can breach privacy and trust — always maintain web integrity and respect user trust.

Play it Safe with Safe Methods

When tackling the situation where we want to display content from a different domain, we can follow some creative yet safe routes:

Custom web components

For encapsulating third-party content, developers can create custom web components which might provide a secure environment for displaying the content.

Server-side Rendering (SSR)

SSR offers a more controlled procedure to display content similar to that of Google's search page. By handling rendering on the server before sending it to the client, the challenges concerning cross-origin restrictions can be mitigated.

Official APIs

Using official APIs is always the best way to access and beautifully display content. For instance, Google provides APIs for many of their services, which makes embedding content from Google safer and legal in your web projects.