Database Driven Websites

Database driven sites can be built using several competing technologies, each with it’s own advantages.
In some ways, any information store would be suitable for a database, but there are some things that are better suited than others:

• address and phone lists
• product inventories
• lists of information
• price lists

All of these types of information can be displayed on a static Web site, and if you have a small amount of information, a static page can be the easiest way to display it. But if you have a large amount of information, or you want to display the same elements in multiple places, a database makes it much easier.

• Enabling many (potentially non-technical) users to provide content for the website. Users can publish articles on the website without needing to FTP them to a web server.
• Shopping cart
• You can provide advanced search functionality that enables users to filter the results based on a given field. They can then sort those results by a field - say "Price" or "Date".
• Customized homepage
• You can allow your users to perform tasks such as registering for a newsletter, post questions to your forums, provide comments on a blog, update their profile, etc.
• Integration with corporate applications such as CRM systems, HR systems etc
• Much more