hi we're working on getting our site redesigned, and i'm trying to figure out a way to create our database as easy as possible. i have very minimal experience with databases, so i've been working on outsourcing the project. here is our website: www.expresscomputersystems.com basically, what we need on the front end is a form that would include: part #, description, specs, and picture. then on the back end that form would operate with MYSQL somehow and input all of that data into the database. finally we need to somehow create each page dynamically. please excuse my lack of expertise in this matter, i hope this all made sense.
also, i was wondering if this would be possible to outsource without giving the provider access to our server?
That's pretty basic, probably more a programming question than database. Your table could look like Part Table part_number unsigned int description text picture varchar(255) <-- filename of image on server Spec Table part_number unsigned int spec_name varchar(100) spec_value varchar(255) This is basic, I would have to know more about the data but it gives you a start. As far as the pages you've described they are pretty basic.
The development can be done by the outsourcing provider on their own system, but there are always some server specific issues. If you give the outsourcing provider FTP access to a sub-folder within your site, and maybe create a separate test database, the work can be done in your environment without compromising your security concerns.