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Wednesday, March 20, 2013
A dynamic website is one that
changes or customizes itself frequently and automatically, based on certain
criteria.
Dynamic websites can have two
types of dynamic activity: Code and Content. Dynamic code is invisible or
behind the scenes and dynamic content is visible or fully displayed.
The first type is a web page with
dynamic code. The code is constructed dynamically on the fly using active
programming language instead of plain, static HTML.
A website with Dynamic Code
refers to its construction or how it is built, and more specifically refers to
the code used to create a single web page. A dynamic web page is generated on
the fly by piecing together certain blocks of code, procedures or routines. A
dynamically generated web page would recall various bits of information from a
database and put them together in a pre-defined format to present the reader
with a coherent page. It interacts with users in a variety of ways including by
reading cookies recognizing users' previous history, session variables, server
side variables etc., or by using direct interaction (form elements, mouse
over’s, etc.). A site can display the current state of a dialogue between users,
monitor a changing situation, or provide information in some way personalized
to the requirements of the individual user.
The second type is a website with
Dynamic Content displayed in plain view. Variable content is displayed
dynamically on the fly based on certain criteria, usually by retrieving content
stored in a database.
A website with dynamic content
refers to how its messages, text, images and other information are displayed on
the web page and more specifically how its content changes at any given moment.
The web page content varies based on certain criteria, either pre-defined rules
or variable user input. For example, a website with a database of news articles
can use a pre-defined rule which tells it to display all news articles for today's
date. This type of dynamic website will automatically show the most current
news articles on any given date. Another example of dynamic content is when a
retail website with a database of media products allows a user to input a
search request for the keyword Beatles. In response, the content of the web
page will spontaneously change the way it looked before, and will then display
a list of Beatles products like CDs, DVDs and books.
Advantages of dynamic websites
Much more functional website
Much easier to update for non
technical staff
Can work as a system to allow
staff or users to collaborate
Integrated SEO Plug-ins
Disadvantages of dynamic
websites
More expensive to develop
Hosting costs a little more