Static or dynamic?

[September 2004] Static or dynamic? Continuing our Tips for Terrific Sites, this month's Tip explains the difference between static and dynamic sites.

In days of yore the CommunityNet Aotearoa website was static. That means that each page you could see on the website was created with its information as a file and then added to the site. If we wanted any extra pages then we had to create them. To change any information the page itself would be changed.

Now we've moved to a dynamic website. Curiously enough, this means that actually none of the 'pages' exist on their own. Instead we've designed some templates which say something like:

On the home page put some links for navigation, add some paragraphs of welcome and then list two or three items from each category, such as News, Jobs, etc.

When the visitor calls up the Home Page the web browser uses that framework and then asks a database what information it has to fill in the outline. After a few moments while the web browser assembles all the bits the visitor can see on the Home Page.

This is a dynamic website — the information exists in a database the visitor doesn't see and pages are assembled "on-the-fly" with whatever information is relevant. This approach is often referred to as using a Content Management System.

This is a good approach for many websites where you want to offer fresh information fairly often. Most Content Management Systems also provide an easy form on the website for the owners to add further information — such as a news item.

There are many different Content Management Systems around, many of them free. This helps reduce the cost of setting up a website as a designer can create an appealing look through stylesheets while using "off-the-shelf" components.

For a very simple dynamic website the Blogging software Wordpress is very suitable:

It has several different ready-made stylesheets available (which control the layout and look of the site) and may be all you need.

For more complex websites visit www.cmsmatrix.org.

When you choose a CMS be sure to look for a system which emphasises standards compliant coding, cascading style sheets and accessibility.