If the content of the website is held in a database, it becomes possible to reduce the number of databases held on various computers around the organisation.  

Instead of having a customer database on one computer; the images, product descriptions, catalogues and pricing lists on another; and internal documents, such as quality manuals, policies and procedures, on yet another computer, using a database means they can all come together in the one database on the website - or at least on the same computer that hosts the website.  

The advantages are:

• Using a secure login procedure, staff can access records and information via the website no matter where they are, any time of the day or night, as long as they have access to the Internet.  Having secure global access to a company's information via the Internet is called an extranet.
• Customers and suppliers can log on and update their own details, download documents and access information from the central database as far as they are permitted.
• If the website contains the only database and filing-room of company information, staff and customers know that what they retrieve from the website is the very latest, most up-to-date information held by the company.
• It saves staff time trying to find the latest information and checking that the information they have is the very latest.  
• It is easier to manage security of information and access rights to information 

What to do

It is more expensive to develop a database-supported website than one that simply has the information separately stored in the HTML code of each page.  However, the efficiency gains may outweigh the additional cost.  

• Undertake a cost/benefit analysis.
• Identify what existing databases, catalogues, lists, information sheets, internal manuals etc could be moved to a database-supported website.
• Identify the advantages.
• Estimate the value per year to the organisation of increased sales, time-savings, cost-savings, customer satisfaction, flexibility for staff, security etc.
• Contact a few web developers, or ask internal IT staff, and get estimates of the cost of developing a database-supported website - you will need to ask about development costs and on-going yearly costs - eg licence fees, technical maintenance.

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