By Carole Pivarnik

So, you're wondering how to get visitors to hang around your site
a little longer? Maybe get them to interact a bit more? Even give
them a good reason to keep coming back? Consider adding an inter-
active database to meet all these needs. The benefits?

>> It's easier for you to update records in an online database
than manually updating and reloading HTML-coded pages.

>> Visitors can interact more with your site, and that's likely
to keep them around longer.

>> Visitors can more quickly and easily find items of interest,
making your site more useful to them, thereby building
loyalty.

>> Being able to add or edit records gives visitors a greater
sense of involvement and can help increase useful content on
your site (depending on the nature of your Web database).

>> A database's design and structure can easily be changed to
accommodate new information you need to capture.

Interactive Database Ideas

Here are some interactive databases that might enhance any
number of Web sites:

>> Directories. Of professionals, members, related Web sites,
resources, you name it. Let visitors add their own entries
and watch your directory grow like crazy.

>> Article Archives. Write a lot of articles for your ezine or
site? Put them in an online database and your visitors can
easily search for the ones that most interest them.

>> Events Calendar. Are you a speaker, trainer, or organization
with a full schedule of events? Let your visitors keep track
of what's going by posting updates regularly.

>> Press Release Center. Post your press releases or news
stories so that folks can easily keep up with what's
happening on your site or in your company.

>> Job Openings/Referrals. Create a job bank by posting job
listings or letting others do so. Accept job candidate
referrals from others, or maybe even set up and manage a
referral contest.

>> Service Requests. Allow customers to request service calls,
appointments, or assistance. Respond online by updating
their request with the necessary information.

These are just a few ideas that your site might use to add
interactivity, build loyalty, and encourage participation. No
doubt you have a few ideas of your own by now. The next big
question is, how do you get there from here?

Assessing the Technology Hurdle

No doubt about it, adding interactive databases to your site
requires getting past the technology hurdle. To do that, your
options are:

>> Custom programmed solutions, which require good programming,
database design, and server configuration skills and typically
involve hiring a professional. This approach can easily cost
thousands of dollars and take weeks or months to implement.

>> Do-it-yourself solutions, which usually require you to buy
and install software that you use to design a database from
scratch and configure your server to implement it. The cost
varies but can be several hundred dollars, plus most likely
significant amounts of your time--depending on how savvy you
are to begin with.

>> Hosted solutions, which let you choose from existing designs
or customize your own. Some must be accessed on the host's
site, while others can be visually incorporated into your
site although your actual database lives on the host's
server. Cost generally ranges from free to less than $50 a
month. Implementation time is fast...a couple of days or
less. This solution is often the best for site owners who
want to have design input but don't want to spend a fortune
or code a solution themselves.

The solution you choose will depend a lot on the skills, time,
and money you have to invest. Regardless of how you do it,
the fact is that adding interactive Web databases to your site
is a great opportunity to engage your visitors and keep 'em
coming back for more!

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Carole Pivarnik is a Senior Developer at SureCode Technologies,
Inc. She is involved in web site design, database development,
technical communications, and marketing. Email her at
carole@surecode.com or visit http://www.surecode.com.