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There are two basic styles of web sites. One is static and the other is dynamic. Dynamic involves the use of a database to populate the content of a web site.

The nice part of a database generated site, is the client has total control over all content including what is said and publication dates. The client can change text as often as desired all without the need of a web master.

Many web hosting services offer the required programs for a dynamic database web site as part of a standard hosting package.

The two most common packages are PHP and MySQL. In this case, PHP is used to talk to the MySQL database which is then used to populate the content of a web site.

A leader in a Content Management Systems (CMS) database site is Drupal. It is open source, thus the software has no cost. If it were to be purchased its overall value would be in the $25,000 range. However, in this case free is most welcomed!

A Drupal site can be constructed in a variety of content formats. Blogs, forums, polls, RSS, text and fifty other options are available as add on modules. Again, all software is free. See Drupal Modules for a complete listing.

As in this example, a site can be set up as a simple blog. It is simple in design, fits the needs of the client and the client is 100% in control of all content. In addition, the site utilizes automatic news feeds from ABC, NPR and BBC. The Blog Site is live for viewing and review.

A Drupal database driven site can have many more elements. For this site a poll, blog, minutes, covenants and books have been added along with a printer friendly version of the covenants. This Sample Site is live and posted on the net.

In some cases there is a desire to display images. It may be for business or personal use. An open source program that fits the need for an image gallery is Coppermine.

Images are uploaded and then converted by Coppermine to a correct display size for the net. Once this program is installed it is easily maintained by the end user. A live Image Gallery is available for review.