Dynamic Web Design
The traditional method of laying out web pages, Hypertext Mark-up Language (HTML) is static. There are two ways of delivering content dynamically:
Server-side A web server, running special software, constructs an HTML page ‘on the fly’, according to the user’s request and possibly other variables, such as time or stock levels.
Suitable scripting languages include:
PHP
ASP
JSP
CGI
XSLT can be used translate data in XML format into HTML.
mySQL is a popular, free, database, suitable for use with the above; it allows users, subject top password access if required, to update content.
Client-side scripting works at the user’s browser, and therefore should not be used for "mission critical´ work, where the user´s capabilities are not known -it is more suited to adding decoration and other ephemeral content. It is most often achieved through JavaScript.
Client side DHTML can pose major problems for computer accessibility and search engine optimization. Most software designed for assisting people with disabilities, and most search engine robots do not support client side DHTML.
If a web site’s menus are built with Javascript, it is usually impossible for search engines to find the pages listed in the menus, unless an alternative navigation scheme is provided elsewhere on the page.
