The traditional method of laying out web pages, HTML, is static. There are two ways of delivering content dynamically:

Server-side

Server-side scripting is a web server technology in which a user's request is fulfilled by running a script directly on the web server to generate dynamic HTML pages.. The primary advantage to server-side scripting is the ability to highly customize the response based on the user's requirements, access rights, or queries into data stores.

A web server, running special software, constructs an HTML page 'on the fly', according to the user's request and possibly other variables, such as time or stock levels. This often involves the use of some sort of Server-side scripting language, data retrieved from a database, and a template language like XSLT which can be used to translate data from XML format into HTML.

In relation to computing, ‘on the fly’ describes activities that develop or occur dynamically rather than as the result of something that is statically predefined.

Suitable scripting languages include:

ASP: Microsoft designed solution allowing various languages inside a HTML-like outer page

ASP.NET: Programmers can use it to build dynamic web sites, web applications and XML web services

COLDFUSION: Cross platform tag-based commercial server side scripting system

JSP: Java-based system for embedding Java-related code in HTML pages

LASSO: A Datasource neutral interpreted programming language and cross platform server

PERL: Perl is a general-purpose programming language

PHP: Common opensource solution based on including code in its own language into an HTML page

Python: is a multi-paradigm programming language which has a fully dynamic type system and uses automatic memory management

Ruby is a reflective, dynamic, object- oriented programming language.

XSLT can be used to translate data from XML format into HTML.

MySQL and PostgreSQL are popular free SQL databases, suitable for use with the above. They can be used to allow users, subject to password access if required, to update content.

Client-side

Client-side scripting works at the user's browser, and therefore should not be used for "mission critical" work, where the user's capabilities are not known – it is more suited to adding decoration and other ephemeral content. It is most often achieved through JavaScript.

Client side DHTML can pose major problems for Web accessibility and search engine optimization. Most software designed for assisting people with disabilities, and most search engine robots do not support client side DHTML.

If a web site's menus are built with JavaScript, it is usually impossible for search engines to find the pages listed in the menus, unless an alternative navigation scheme is provided elsewhere on the page  By using nested lists for navigation menus, and slightly more complex, DOM-based scripts, this problem may be overcome.