A simple HTML or XML page on your website may contain simple static content. This is content that doesn’t require any input from the “viewer” – news content that is read, or images that are viewed, are not capable of being altered in any way. So – for example – a paragraph of text can’t be deleted by the computer end user who’s reading it on his browser. Static web pages don’t require any action on the part of the viewer. Neither are they affected by environmental factors on the computer (either on the server or the client). Cascading style sheets and templates can be used in static content to provide some uniformity to an overall feel of a site. They can also be used on dynamic web pages.

These dynamic pages – which can also comprise mainly HTML, but often use more advanced languages – can respond to user inputs, or make changes based on database interaction, unique website hits from each visitor or each visit, or time. For example, a survey may be conducted asking for votes. A dynamic page may note the user’s IP address so that he or she can only vote once from that IP address.

This may undermine voting due to dynamic IP address or routing technologies. In many cases, the voting may be conducted using other dynamic inputs, by asking the user for a unique email address for example.

Client side and server side technologies are used to supply dynamic content. Client side scripting languages will be used on the user’s browser. Client side languages include JavaScript and ActionScript. At the server end, dynamic content is often compiled using other languages. These include “general purpose” languages and others that are more specific. Perl, ASP, ColdFusion, and PHP are all server side technologies that are employed in order to enhance dynamic content for an end user.