assignment :

create a web page designed for dynamic content - draft html due week 04

Design one or more web pages that can accomodate changing content. The page(s) will be used as the basis for making a dynamic site using php software to retrieve the content from a mySQL database. For this first part of the assignment, your task is only to design and make the layout and content part of the design, not implement the technology.

The page should be an prototype page of a website that incorporates audience into the design. This can be through audience reviews, contributed stories or other content, or any other form of participation/contribution.

Requirements:

• the page must have at least 4 areas of dynamic content
• one of the areas must incorporate repeating content (e.g. list of links, names, events, etc.)
• the content areas can be tables, slices, or layers
• insert "placeholder" content into the page where the dynamic content will go
• consider how you will handle content that changes in number of repetitions, length, or size. Will your page expand, scroll, or?
• content can be text, links, or URLs for images

We will take your page, and using the authoring system in Dreamweaver, make the page dynamic. So you must have a finished web page that we can edit in Dreamweaver.

data driven sites - making the web dynamic by pulling content from databases

Dynamic web sites are designed from the start to efficiently change over time. They provide fresh content as well as content customized presentations for individual users.

examples : 

• www.amazon.com - one of the biggest dynamic sites
• www.vacationpalmsprings.com - commercial vacation rental company

in static websites, web pages have their content embedded inside the code for the page, and any changes to the content has to be accomplished by hand editing the page. This has several disadvantages:

• content goes stale because updating:
  • has to be accomplished by an "expert"
  • is costly
  • is not a quick process because the HTML must be edited
    
• if the same content exists in several places, it may get out-of-sync because one version will be changed, while other versions stay the same or are changed in a different way
  
• there is no way to incorporate "live" or up-to-date content modified from another source. For example:
  • weather
  • stocks
  • inventory of parts
  • content added by the public
    
• the design tends to assume the content is static

Web sites can be made more dynamic and interesting by incorporating software that pulls the page content out of a database. In this way, when the database is changed, the web pages immediately reflect the changes and show the most up-to-date content. This has several advantages:

• the site is more interesting because it changes and contains up-to-date content
  
• content tends to stay current and draws a better audience because updating
  • does not require an expert
  • is low-cost
  • is a quick and simple process, usually through a web page form
    
• content that's in more than one place all comes from the same source in the database. Change it once in the database, and it will change everywhere it is referenced on the website.
  
• live content from other sources can be incorporated into the site
  
• the design must plan for and accommodate content that changes. This has several implications:
  • pages are designed as templates in which varying content is shown. Often, a single page design and implementation serves to display many different sets of content
  • designs must accomodate content that varys in size, length, repetitions, and form. For example:
    • design the page or section so that it can extend down as long as needed
    • incorporate scroll bars
    • incorporate multiple "pages" of content (could be multiple selections within one page)
    • use pop-up windows for extended versions of content
    • design repeating tables to hold variable numbers of repeated content (e.g. house listings on a real estate site)
  • OR, the design may influence the content itself so the two work together better. For example, the design may dictate that content be limited to a certain maximum size. A better approach would be to build the content so there is a summary and a full version that can be displayed where appropriate.
    
• in more sophisticated designs, the audience can customize the site to their own preferences in terms of what content is presented. For example, users can:
  • selecte the kinds of news stories presented
  • see only content new to the user
  • perform searches on content

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