SQL & Databases - What are the for?

Why would you want a database on a website? The truth is information on big websites can get difficult to manage. You can end up with hundreds of pages and finding the right bit of information can be tough for both you and your clients.

With a database your website can be programmed to manage this data and just as importantly keep your data/content separate from the style of the site. By keeping data and style separate it makes it easier to update these elements independently.

A common example of this is a search facility on a site. With a database you can index the whole site and allow people to search for their content.  Also because you can repackage information and re-present it, it is possible to have for example a news section were the latest headlines can be filtered through to the front page. When a new story gets added the news section and the front page gets updated.

At Duo we build sites that run almost all of the pages from a database. Combined with our content management system this allows our clients to update the whole site whenever they want. They can add news stories, services and even special offer of new products. Because we make the style of the site uneditable our clients can add lots of content without damaging the professional look of their site.