Chapter 1. What Is a Dynamic Site?

To hear the experts tell it, building dynamic sites should be left to them. They will point you to Amazon.com, CNN.com, or sites that feature interactive chats and live video feeds, and they will point out just how complex it can be to deliver a site of this genre .

The average web developer, whose client list includes a large number of local businesses, will listen to the expert's explanation of the technologies involved and the skills required and will have the following, understandable reaction: "Not for me, dude."

We beg to differ . Our response is quite the opposite : "Cool. Bring it on."

Before you start accusing us of being some sort of collection of "techno dweebs" or "tekkie elites," understand that a couple of us were in your shoes a few years ago. We saw it coming and said, "Nope, not for me too complex too technical. We'll never go there!" The way we got to the point in our careers where this chapter came about is a fairly typical story. Our clients started asking about building dynamic sites, which left us in the position of either getting dynamic or getting dead.