Why Databases Need a Database Driven Website

There are so many reasons that just about every businesses needs to set up a database on their website. Databases allow for real time information and can produce and capture information valuable to both customers and businesses alike.

For example, Businesses can store billing and contact information in large database archives. This saves them from having to create individual files and waste tons of time trying to organize them on their own. Databases can speed this process up, which is important for smaller companies that have suddenly become rather popular.

Databases Speed up Searches

Commercial search engines already use giant databases to store all of the information that they index. Chances are that anyone who starts up a context search on their own page is already doing the same, even if they don’t realize it. In fact, setting up a search box isn’t even difficult.

Some open-source distributors have taken it upon themselves to provide search tools, and there are also several proprietary freeware options available. Content management systems such as WordPress are largely built off a database platform, which is already pre-configured making it easy to search the site and pull information.

Flat-File Architecture

While most database structures are really complicated, they don’t have to be. Flat-file databases are great for those who want to be able to maintain the structure without hiring an outside staff. Flat-file databases contain only one file, and these aren’t linked to any other file.

These are much easier to maintain than other systems when the index is fairly small, and compression algorithms are sometimes employed to limit the amount of time spent downloading them on client computers. However, Web servers don’t like to handle huge file-flat systems when the number of entries grows to a large amount. These systems are therefore best for medium-sized platforms that don’t expect to have more than a few hundred different entries.

Relational Database Architecture

Anyone that can’t implement a flat-file database shouldn’t fret too much. They can still use relational database software. A relational database system contains a number of linked files, but programs usually manage these files behind the scenes.

These files contain multiple components of different tables, and the actual core drivers can assemble all of the various tables together when a user queries the system. One table might have email addresses while another might have billing data. There are packages that help Webmasters avoid having to manage these files on their own.

Therefore, while the need for a database is more apparent on ecommerce sites, which need real time inventory access and pricing, any website can benefit being connected to a database. And with plugins such as Gravity Forms, connecting and using the information from databases has never been easier.

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