Dynamic websites, like WordPress and online stores, store most content in a database: pages, posts, products, orders, users and settings.
What it stores
- Page and blog content.
- Products, prices and stock.
- Orders and customer accounts.
- Form submissions.
- Plugin and theme settings.
Images and files are usually stored separately in folders.
Why owners should care
- Backups: both files and database must be backed up. Read website backups.
- Speed: bloated databases slow sites; clean old revisions, spam and expired data.
- Security: databases hold customer data; protect access.
- Migration: moving hosts means moving the database too.
Static sites
Static websites have no database for content, which simplifies security and speed. Read static vs dynamic.
Data formats
Developers often exchange data as JSON; inspect it with our JSON formatter.
Want the full picture? This article is part of Business websites: the complete guide, our in-depth guide with everything in one place.
