To have a database at your website you will need what's called a database program. The
favorites for the web are MySQL, MS Access, SQL Server and Oracle. The database program is designed
to store your information. If you have a very small database, it can just be stored in a text file.
To access the database online, you will need a script that sends and retrieves your information from
the database program. The language that the script is written in depends on what database you are using.
There are pre-built scripts available on the web or you can get a custom script written.
Many commercial hosting companies have database programs already installed on their systems that you
can use. They will often supply scripts that work with them as well.
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If you wanted your visitors to be able to search your site for price lists of your products or perhaps you would want them to
be able to search your product catalogs. Other things such as guest books, website search tools, mailing lists, etc. can be used with a database. If you are looking to build a customer database this would be the easiest and most efficient way to do so.
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Can I get to my website database from my PC?
Yes you can. You can have a script installed that lets you access your database and manage it online or
you can download the database file and edit it on your desktop. You'll need a copy of the
software that runs the database on your desktop to do this and you will need to learn how to use the
software. Many commercial web hosting companies have online database management scripts that you
can sign up for and use.
This may not always be a simple process to set-up and learn. It really depends on what database program
you are using and your software or online database management script.
Database design and programming is one of our specialties here at Smart Web Centers.
If your current web hosting company does not have these programs or if the
program is too hard to use and you need help, contact us and we will help you.
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