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!