My name is Dan Parks Sydow, and I am a senior software engineer and book author living in the Midwest of the United States. I've written over twenty computer-related books, most of them having something to do with computer programming. I've written beginner-level programming books, including several in the For Dummies series, and advanced-level programming books, including books on programming in the C, C++, and Java languages. When I'm not writing books, I'm using my more than fifteen years of programming experience to develop dynamic, data-driven websites for individuals and small businesses.

Many websites are static — a website developer defined the text and graphics that make up the website, and the look and content of the site's pages are 'fixed.' That is, the pages are unchanging, or static. If the website owner wants a change made to a page on the site, the website owner must consult the website developer to get the changes made. That might be okay for a small, simple site, but it won't due for any site that aspires to be non-trivial.

A dynamic website is one that is easily changeable. Not by a web developer, but rather, by the site owner. The site is easily changed even — and especially — if the site owner has little or no knowledge of website development techniques. Such a site is dynamic in that it can be easily modified, and it's data-driven in that the site content (text, graphics, multimedia) is stored as data in a database.

A dynamic website gives the website owner the power to change some things — or everything — on the site using simple 'point-and-click' skills. If the business phone number changes, the website owner simply types the new phone number, clicks an Update button, and the website now displays the new phone number. Consider the following displayed on a website: If the website is an online store, and a new product is to be sold, the website owner simply types the product information — such as the product name, price, and description — clicks a New button, and the new product is now listed on the site's Products page.

When a website is dynamic, anything on the site can be set to be easily modifiable &mdash even the look of the entire site. Go ahead and change the look of this site (without changing any of its content) by clicking the enabled button: For simplicity, in these examples the ability to change this page's content and style have been placed right here on this page. In a real dynamic website, the controls appear in separate, password-protected pages of the website. That allows the website owner — and only the website owner — to control the website.

This restricted area of a dynamic website is referred to as a content management system, or CMS. If you'd like to see, and play around with, a small demonstration CMS, visit the CMS Demo page.

I've developed a full-featured, comprehensive content management system (CMS) that's used by MadBeeTech. MadBeeTech provides inexpensive, complete small business website solutions. When you sign up for a MadBeeTech account you get a .com (www.CompanyName.com) domain, web hosting, integrated shopping cart and credit card accepting payment system, and a sitebuilder. The sitebuilder, based on the CMS, allows you to easily customize web pages, upload graphics, and sell shippable products or downloadable files (digital downloads). For more information about MadBeeTech, visit the MadBeeTech website.

If you've got a unique idea for an online business — an idea that you think needs some specialized features beyond those included in a MadBeeTech website — talk to me about having me custom develop your online business. Because I've designed many dynamic data-driven websites, and have developed my own custom content management system, I've compiled a wealth of reusable code that serves as a starting point for new websites. That means I won't have to 'start from scratch' with your website, and it means you won't have to pay the huge programming bill many custom programmers charge!

Do you have an idea for a new online business, or for a web application to be used by the employees of your current business? Would you like some straight answers as to what it might take to turn your idea into a complete online solution? Start a dialog! No ideas are too big, too small, or too 'off the wall.' Let me know what's on your mind!