Website Development: Typical requirements and expectations from a website

Typical Website Requirements Today

Modern websites need to offer dynamic and interactive experiences to users. Here are some key requirements:

1. Dynamic Content Updates
   1. Blogs, news websites, and forums need regular content updates without manually editing HTML files.
   2. Example: News sites like BBC, social media feeds.
   3. Requires: Server side scripting, use of CMS & databases.
2. User Authentication & Registration
   • Websites often require users to sign up, log in, and manage accounts.
   • Example: E-commerce sites, social media, and SaaS platforms.
   • Requires: Database & server-side scripting.
3. Data Collection & Forms
   • Contact forms, feedback forms, surveys, and analytics collection.
   • Example: Newsletter subscriptions, job applications, and user feedback.
   • Requires: Server-side processing & databases.
4. Mailing & Notifications
   • Websites need to send automated emails for verification, order confirmations, newsletters, and alerts.
   • Example: Contact form submissions, password reset emails.
   • Requires: Mail server, server-side scripting.
5. Personalized Content
   • Websites need to show user-specific content based on preferences, browsing history, or location.
   • Example: E-commerce recommendations, personalized dashboards.
   • Requires: Server-side processing & user session tracking.
6. Search Functionality
   • Finding specific content within large websites.
   • Example: E-commerce product search, documentation search.
   • Requires: Databases & server-side indexing.
7. E-commerce Features
   • Product listings, cart management, payment processing.
   • Example: Amazon, Shopify stores.
   • Requires: Payment gateways, user authentication, databases.
8. APIs & Third-Party Integrations
   • Websites often integrate with payment gateways, social media, and cloud services.
   • Example: Login with Google/Facebook, Stripe for payments.
   • Requires: Server-side scripting, API communication.
9. Access Control & User Roles
   • Restricting access to certain pages or features based on user roles.
   • Example: Admin vs. regular user dashboards.
   • Requires: Session management & authentication.
10. SEO Optimization & Analytics
    • Search engines need to index pages properly, and website owners need traffic insights.
    • Requires: Server-side rendering, analytics tools.
11. Scalability & Performance
    • Handling high traffic with fast load times.
    • Example: Streaming services, news sites with viral content.
    • Requires: Caching, CDNs, server-side optimizations.

Why Static Websites Cannot Provide These Features

As we understand that static websites as basically designed using primarily HTML, CSS and some times client side JavaScript and other images and documents like pdfs etc.  They do not use server side scripting, databases etc hence the following limitation occur.

1. No Database Support → Cannot store or manage dynamic user data.
2. No User Authentication → Cannot handle login/logout or user accounts.
3. No Server-Side Processing → Forms, payments, and search require dynamic scripts.
4. Difficult Content Management → Every update requires manually editing HTML files.
5. No Personalization → Same content for all users, no dynamic recommendations.
6. Limited Scalability → Large sites become hard to manage without CMS or databases.

Because of these limitations, dynamic websites using CMS, databases, and server-side scripting are the preferred choice for modern web development.