* Database Driven Website Administration

[Kevin]

I am a website designer who has been doing small business websites for a few
years...My primary skills are HTML/CSS, a little Javascript/DHTML my website
can be seen at "www.creativeone.com/co_intro.htm".

I am a little familiar with MS Access and am looking to expand my arsenal
of skills by getting into the small database driven website arena, and have
a few questions before I start, making sure I go in the right direction.

I would like to be able to offer my small business clients 3 major database
components:

1. Employee Contact list
2. Shopping Cart
3. Order/Contact/Info Forms to database

...and would like to offer myself 1 major database component:

1. I would like my clients to have access to certain website content (without
knowing HTML) so that they can do minor edits themselves...such as content
updates and employee info changes.

This would eleviate me from having to do these minor things and allow them
the freedom to change certain things as they desire...

What I envision is a website design template with a database that holds the
website entire (content,text,graphics, etc.) and allows me to give my client
access to certain fields to edit as they desire. All without disturbing the
design template. Is this a correct/doable concept?

I believe this is possible and is done all the time, I just don't know where
to start with what technology. Like I said these are small projects and I
believe most (if not all) can be done using MS Access.

I don't want to go the PHP/MySQL route (please don't ask), so what I see
myself doing is learning ASP and/or Cold Fusion to tie into an MS Access
database...

1. is this correct or are there some elements I am missing?
2. plus would this address all the components I have mentioned above?
3. would I be able to give my clients certain freedom in website edits?

Or is there a "packaged" solution to this kind of website design/development
that someone can recommend?

Thanks in advance,
Kevin

[Constance Petersen]

Hi Kevin,

"Kevin" <kevinak@email.com> wrote in message
news:3aa63d13$1@news.devx.com...
> I don't want to go the PHP/MySQL route (please don't ask), so what I see
> myself doing is learning ASP and/or Cold Fusion to tie into an MS Access
> database...
>
> 1. is this correct or are there some elements I am missing?
> 2. plus would this address all the components I have mentioned above?
> 3. would I be able to give my clients certain freedom in website edits?

Start learning the newest version of ASP, ASP.NET now while it's in beta.
It's perfect for all the things you want to do. To get started, check out
the ASP.NET links on these sites:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/net/
http://www.gotdotnet.com/
http://www.devx.com/dotnet
http://www.aspnextgen.com/
http://www.aspng.com/

Constance Petersen
--
SoftMedia Artisans, Inc.
http://www.smartisans.com
Visual Basic.NET Internet Black Book
ISBN: 1-58880-078-4

[Kevin]

Thanks Constance...

Right now I am set up on Win2K w/IIS 5.0 on local machine. Can I learn the
ASP.NET stuff on this set up? ...along with integration into an MS Access
database? (eventually SQL Server but would like to learn to crawl before
trying to run).

Thanks for the URL's. I guess the best way to get started is to get started...and
as long as you believe I can do with ASP.NET (isn't ASP+?) what I listed
as my primary concerns than I should be able to provide my clients with a
database driven web administerable web site...right?

Thanks again...

Any other confirmations by anyone else and/or suggestions would be greatly
appreciated here...as I am just "getting started".

Kevin

[Constance Petersen]

Hi Kevin,

"Kevin" <kevinak@email.com> wrote in message
news:3aa6b5e7$1@news.devx.com...
> Right now I am set up on Win2K w/IIS 5.0 on local machine. Can I learn the
> ASP.NET stuff on this set up? ...along with integration into an MS Access
> database? (eventually SQL Server but would like to learn to crawl before
> trying to run).

Yes, you'll be fine with that. And you can start with MS Access. ADO.NET
will give you an easy-to-use interface to OLE DB, which will get at the
Access data.

> Thanks for the URL's. I guess the best way to get started is to get
started...and
> as long as you believe I can do with ASP.NET (isn't ASP+?) what I listed
> as my primary concerns than I should be able to provide my clients with a
> database driven web administerable web site...right?

ASP.NET is the new name for ASP+. They are one and the same. And yes, you
really will be able to develop a DB-driven, Web administerable web site. :-)

Constance
--
SoftMedia Artisans, Inc.
http://www.smartisans.com
Visual Basic.NET Internet Black Book
ISBN: 1-58880-078-4