We've put together some answers to frequently asked questions. Also, please call us at 973 252-7861 or email us with any other questions you might have.

Must I change my database?
Do I need to change my database in order to have a Web page get data from it?

If you have MS Access or a few other types of databases, they can be used for the page creation. If you have a database that you've had for years, the support (or lack of it) can be a decision maker in itself. It may be time to convert to a new database anyway. In addition to other in-house advantages to upgrading your database, it is quite possible that your current database is not compatible with programming for the Internet.
 

Should I wait for the upcoming major upgrade?
I will upgrade my database in a year. The new system will be a prepackaged offering that will handle multiple applications such as product information, accounting, invoicing. Would it be best to wait for the major upgrade before I add the online product catalog?

The answer lies in the justification of the investment of the online product catalog now and the rest later along with consideration of how the two can work together later. The answer is three-part:

They could be tied together later. You could check and confirm with that supplier if a file outputted from MS Access could read into the other system that you get a year from now. You will find that it can. That file would automatically update the information you've kept current in the Access database so you are still only updating the product information in one place and can enjoy the benefits of an online product catalog now. That way you can implement the online catalog now and the rest later.
 

If you were thinking about having a Web server at your premise a year from now, you must consider access (data lines that carry visitor requests to and from the computer), security and the personnel required to maintain it. The main advantage for that kind of server is for Intranet confidential information. Public sites are better left outsourced to a Web Host computer. Your product database would be uploaded to the Web Host computer, you would (or we would for you) update information on that database and the feed from that computer would feed your in-house computer which ties the two computers together.
 

The investment to automate your current system for online consistency of page creation, shopping cart capability (can be added now or later) and database search capabilities would be paid for via the potential for increased sales now, rather than a year from now.
 

MS Access capacity
Will the MS Access capacity be too small to handle our needs. How can I determine what database will be best for us?

First look at the size of your current database (or if you don't have one, look at the size of a folder on your c: drive that you feel has a lot of information in it). You can do that by going to Windows Explorer and looking at the size column for the database file or data folder (right click folder and look at "Properties"). MS Access 2000 has the following capacities (per the MS Access "Office Assistant" lookup on "specifications"):

Microsoft Access database (.mdb) file size 2 gigabytes. However,
because your database can include linked tables in other files, its total
size is limited only by available storage capacity.

Number of objects in a database 32,768 (e.g. tables, NOT rows in a
table - one row would carry the information pertaining to one product in your product database; one table carries many product or customer records/rows)

Modules (including forms and reports with the HasModule property set
to True) 1,000

Number of characters in an object name 64

Number of characters in a password 14

Number of characters in a user name or group name 20

Number of concurrent users 255

Table size 1 gigabyte

Also, when you create your database in MS Access, you will cut down on the space required by "normalizing" the relational database. That means to separate repeating information into separate tables. An example would be product categories, a number can be placed on each product record equating to the full catalog section information, rather than repeating that information on every product record.

In designing the database, we have the background to and will normalize for efficiency.

Per our recommended Web host company, "highly scalable, MS SQL is the perfect choice for handling your e-commerce site or enterprise application. MS SQL is capable of hundreds of thousands of transactions per day." We'll work with you in the decision and set up of the best database for your needs. We can establish Microsoft® SQL Database, as an option, through the recommended Web host. For more information, see Web Host Considerations.

Benefits
What are the benefits of an online, database-generated product catalog versus individually doing the Web pages for our products?

Again, we'll break the answer down into three parts:

Page consistency
Page consistency is critical. This is easily accomplished when you automate a catalog page. The custom format is created and then populated each time the visitor asks for information.

Establish and Change Pages
The physical nature of establishing and later being able to change massive numbers of products is more efficiently handled via database connectivity rather than manual page creation and changes. You determine the cost of changing information on some pages and missing others. With database connectivity, when you change that database field value, everything in ANY Web page that uses that information is automatically changed.

Database Search Capability
Basically, Internet users like using Search as well as browse navigation to find what they want. A Search against a database brings back generally more pertinent references and puts it in a more user friendly format that is designed for that particular data.

Working sample sites available?
Could I view a working sample site that utilizes MS Access for a dynamically created Web page?

We have several examples that utilize MS Access to present specific site visitor requested information. Please see our main Database Applications page for details.

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