NOTE: Database connectivity is NOT supported on the central CCID file space. You will need to contact your department's web administrator to know if it is available on your department's web server.

For large websites and websites that require content to be constantly updated, it can be a challenge to use "static" html pages for each content page. If that's the case, the people who are responsible for maintaining the pages need to have basic web development skills or else everything is centralised through one webmaster, which can become overwhelming at times.

In such a situation, it's more efficient to use "dynamic" web pages. Web templates are created using web application server technologies like ASP or PhP (See the section on server side scripts for more detail). The content for the pages is contained in databases hosted on the web server and the same web templates can display different content depending on what the user requested. From the administration side, the web content providers can employ user friendly database forms or interfaces that in many cases, already exist in the organization.

Another common concept is the use of web content management systems. These systems are pre-built by third party vendors and come with a web based administration interface for content providers and administrators to manage the website from the content, look and feel and functionality aspects. The challenge is to find the right content management system that fits your budget and your needs.

• This article from the Adobe Developer Connection site is a good place to start, specially if you use the Macromedia Studio web development suite.
• Flash-db.com is a very good resource for both beginners and advanced users that shows you different ways of connecting to a database from a flash application for reading and writing information. It shows techniques for using Flash remoting and server side scripts as the connector.
• Connecting MS Access to the web is a good tutorial on getting an MS Access database connected to a web page in PhP.
• Connecting to an Access database shows you how to connect to an MS Access database via ASP.