Databases

Some sites do not need a database. But if you plan to create a lot of content, wish to collect data, or wish to make changes to your own site, then you will definitely need one.

There are many reasons why a database may make sense for your site. First of all, by storing your web pages and/or data in a database, you can use a Publishing Tool to edit content on your own site. Please review our Do-It-Yourself section for more info on this. Another advantage of using a database is that it separates the content (data) from the way it looks. Thus only a single file needs to be updated if you wish to re-design your site.

Other reasons to use a database are if you wish to take orders, to allow users to register, to password-protect parts of your site, to send automated email newsletters, to create user profiles (to recall shipping info, for instance), and so on.

Over the years, MostlyWeb has used a wide variety of databases on many different platforms. In some cases we have created simple flat-file-based systems but in others we have implemented serious, multi-user databases consisting of many tables and featuring rollbacks and other transactional features. It really depends on what you are trying to do and what systems you have in place already.