Web Database

An advantage of publishing your database on the web is that you and others can access it from anywhere in the world with an Internet connection. This is especially useful if you travel or work from home, or if you want to share information with customers. Another advantage of a web database is that people don't need any special software to use it. All they need is a Mac, PC or mobile device and a standard web browser.

When to create a web database

A web database is useful for sharing or collecting information with people outside your company:

• Conducting surveys
• Collecting event registration information
• Collecting customer feedback

A database-driven website is also useful for keeping information up-to-date that changes frequently:

• Publishing a product catalog
• Distributing daily sales or stock level reports
• Sharing work in progress with customers, as an advertising agency might

How do you create a web database?

• Before you create a web database, first think about what information needs to be collected or published to the web. The design of your database should take these needs into account.
• Next, you need to create web pages that connect to your database. With FileMaker Pro and FileMaker Server, you can produce a web database without knowing PHP or other web programming languages.
• Install a web server and publish your web database. A web server is included with FileMaker Pro bundles or FileMaker Server can be purchased separately.

Create web databases for iPhones

Some database management systems let you create a web database that's optimised for viewing on iPhones and other mobile devices. This makes it easy to enter or view data when you are offsite – for example, at a trade show, at customer offices or at an emergency scene.

Is a web database secure?

You can make your web database just as secure as a database on your network. Just set it up so that people need to enter a username and password to access the web database.