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Step 1 - Static or Dynamic?
 Is your website static or dynamic?
Static sites display the same information to all users in response to all download requests. In contrast, dynamic sites can show different information to users, in various contexts, giving you far more flexibility and control.
Although pages within static sites load faster and lead to better server performance under stress, you’ll be too restricted when it comes to building and managing your site...so a dynamic site is preferred.
 Top 5 Reasons to have a Dynamic Site
1. It can be managed by a person with virtually no web design experience whatsoever
2. It's easy to update and frequently change the content on your site - text, images, videos, etc.
3. You have the option to hide content that’s under construction from public view
4. It's great for mapping and laying out how a site will look
5. You have the capability to assign roles to different types of users, e.g. subscribers, members, affiliates, etc.
 A user-friendly CMS makes life much easier
Static sites lack flexibility, efficiency when building pages, and require more technical know-how. The various ways in which you are even able to control and update your information in a dynamic site is through a content management system ( CMS ). It’s a computer application used to create, edit, find, manage, and publish various types of electronic text and digital media. More...
 Upload multimedia content with your CMS
Whether it’s uploading new documents, pictures, videos, flash animations, working with text/html modules, generating quotes, managing your online store, or updating your blog, you probably have or are in need of some degree of dynamic content on your site. More...
 From an SEO standpoint, you need a dynamic site because...
...you must add fresh content to your site on a consistent basis.
Not only will new content enhance the value and experience for your end users, but also fresh material accomplishes the all-important task of feeding search engine spiders the HTML text and links they’re seeking.
In the past, dynamic content used to pose problems for search engine indexing but robots have evolved and are now more than equipped to index your pages. Still, you should pay heed to the following SEO guidelines for dynamic sites.
 SEO Tips for Dynamic Sites:
- Decide on which pages will be indexed and visible to your users
If your dynamic site has "register" and "login" sections, then it’s evident that there’s a certain portion of your member content that the search engine robots will never see. You have the control to show a variety of content to people who have different roles on your site. More...
- Create easy-to-follow paths for the search engines
You obviously want search engines to be able to find every single dynamic page on your site. Every single page is a pathway and opportunity to bring in more traffic and widen your user base. You must ensure that robots can follow standard HTML links (<a href>) to each and every one of your pages. More...
- Keep your URLs as simple as possible
Static sites generate static URLs while dynamic sites create dynamic URLs. A dynamic URL is a page address that results from a site running a script or the search of a database-driven site. With a static URL, the content of a web page stays the same unless the changes are hard coded into the HTML. More...
 Static URLs are typically indexed more quickly and can rank higher in organic search engine results. Static URLs are also easier for people to understand what the page is about before they click on the search result.
When you rewrite your URLs, you can also insert your all-important keywords to help boost your positioning. So why wouldn't you change (rewrite) your URLs to a shorter form and include your keywords in them? More...
 Rewriting your URLs must be done very carefully:
With the current functionality and dynamic interface that you provide for your users, as a result of many hours of customized programming, it may not be possible to rewrite your URLs to a shorter form.
Any sort of change to your URLs could wreak havoc on your entire site and cause some parts or everything altogether to stop working. More...
 A Heads up on Flash & Ajax
Flash and Ajax are technologies that create a cool, interactive experience for the user but exist in formats that may be difficult for search engine robots to handle. The exception here is Google - the first search engine to successfully index Flash.
You can feed a wealth of content into a Flash file or display tons of online store products with Ajax but the huge SEO downside is that these technologies display on only one HTML page - this leads to only one URL being indexed in the search engines for a plethora of content.
 How do you decide on how much Flash or Ajax to use?
The goal is to do what’s best for your customers and the search engines. To make this decision, think about your website and how you want it to be positioned along a spectrum.
What you gain in the “wow factor” with Flash and Ajax, you lose in an SEO competitive advantage. Guidelines for making your final decision - More...
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