Services
 Database
Development
 We
receive a lot of enquiries which relate to peoples conceptions
that a website is built up of a number of html pages: you
click on the link to the page and it appears on the computer
screen.
This is logical and also true, but it implies perhaps, the
misconception that for instance if you have two hundred products
you would have a page designed for each product and thus the
size of your website is over 200 pages and every time you
need another product you have to have another web page designed
and links to that page applied to all other relevant pages
on the site.
We have also seen examples of this and thus it is true that
this exists, but it is incredibly expensive and time consuming.
This is where an online database comes into play. A simple
scenario would be to design a page and within that page identify
certain areas where common information would be displayed
i.e.
Product Image
Product Description
Price
Number of products available
The next step is to create a database where the product name,
description, picture, price and availability can be input
and then link this data to the page.
So, in effect the database would then use the same single
page to display any of the products in the database.
The database can have as many products in it as is required,
but you only have one page.
So, what are the pro's and cons of a data driven website
versus a website with a dedicated page designed for each product
or service?
Well, if you intend to have a limited number of products
and the information associated with each of the products or
services is unlikely to change, it may well be that the non
database website (Static) is for you and it will also allow
you to have custom built pages for each product and that is
absolutely 100% OK.
With a datadriven website you have much more potential and
flexibility:
PRODUCTS - You can add as many products as you like, you
can change content associated with each product, price, description,
size, colour, you can create product categories and sub categories.
CUSTOMISED PAGES - You can have pages designed for each category
to ensure individuality.
DYNAMIC CONTENT - You can have pages that have the product
or service displayed, but also allow banners to be incorporated
and changed as required also.
SEARCH - You can do a search on your product range within
given parameters i.e. you could search for any product within
a price range or you could do a keyword search on the title
or description of your products - this is great for site users
as they can access information quickly and accurately as opposed
to perhaps giving up and seeking the answers elsewhere on
the internet.
SCALABILITY - Typically a data driven website allows "bolt
Ons" in that you want to add an additional service or
product to the website. An example would be perhaps if you
wished to add an option to guarantee the products you were
selling for an additional period of time- this would be a
simple option within a datadriven website.
This scenario relates to products and dwells perhaps too much
on retail websites, however the same principle applies to
website features such as News features, FAQ's, articles, personnel
and more.
If you have reached the conclusion that we are a tad enthusiastic
about datadriven websites, then you would be right, because
they make life so much easier IF and that is the question:
if this relates to your requirements.
We can wax lyrical about design too and design and datadriven
websites can go hand in hand but that is another subject.
Just in case you were wondering, the answer is YES. This article
is sitting in a database and to be a bit more specific it
was written on a Sunday afternoon in the South of France.
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