Dynamic websites are usually database driven and template controlled. E-Commerce websites are a good example. The website administration is performed by accessing a secure, password protected "Back Office" section. This can be done so that the user can update or make changes to the website without knowing any programing languages and without any fear of disrupting the website design. If your website needs to be updated frequently, this is the option for you.

DYNAMIC WEBSITES

This is an introduction for those unfamiliar with the concept of a "dynamic" or "database driven" website. There are two types of websites. One is called a "brochure" or "static" website." You can spot the brochure/static website as the address normally ends in .htm or.html. These have information about a company such as contact details, a few pictures and photos of staff, a list of a few products and maybe a couple of prices. These websites are "static" in that the only way you can make changes is to manually open up the individual web page file, change the data and upload the new version to the web. Managing this type of website is very time-consuming. This type of website serves a purpose, but as a company develops it's web strategy, they see its limitations and seek to find a better way of delivering their particular product or service.

The second type are "dynamic websites." The information you read (and the pictures you look at) on these websites don't come from the html pages, but from the database that the site is connected to. These websites often end in .asp (Microsoft Active Server Pages) or .cfm (Cold Fusion). The advantage is that when you update your database, your website is also updated. Incorporated within the dynamic website is a Content Management System (CMS) The CMS can be constructed so that the user does not have to know any "code languages" to manage the website.

SCENARIO

Let's say you run a company that sells Bowling Gloves. You've been able to keep your "static website" up to date as Bowling Glove prices haven't been changing much and there's only a few different models on the market. So far it's been great.

One day you receive a phone call from the CEO of Bowling Glove, Inc. He tells you that the bowling glove market is about to explode. There will be 500 more styles of gloves entering the market, each in "5 popular colors." Not only that, he warns: "there's going to be a lot of price fluctuations, especially in the first few months, and who knows after that."

What do you do? You could stay up all night, every night adding new pictures to your static brochure site, changing prices, deleting products. You wouldn't be alone...

Or you could take the smart option. You could have a database which manages your entire website. When you get a new product, or a new price for an existing product, all you do is add the information to the database (on-line) and, WOW, your website is also updated. It's that simple. You can add or delete information with the click of a button.

Which option would you take?