Hello,
I would like to know if anyone here could please give me some advice. I want to start a website with coupon codes and links to stores. I have looked at several and I like the site http://www.currentcodes.com/ I want my site to run like that. It has a program that allows you to click on a coupon code for say, “the sharper image” and it will take you there but it still has “currentcodes” at the top, with a drop down menu of the coupon codes available for that store. I have been looking for a web host, but I’m not sure what functions I need. I have been told several different things about that special program like: it uses forms, it uses some kind of online cart/store setup, it uses frames, java and php, and it seems to be database populated. I am just trying to find out what specifications I need to look for in a host. Do I need php, java, mysql, linux or windows platform? I also need to be able to build this site and update this myself, so it needs to be very user friendly. I don’t know if there are certain programs/applications that would make this easier for me, as I will be updating daily. I would appreciate any advice anyone could give, and I apologize for my ignorance!
thanks, jmb

Just taken a look at that and basically it is a large database of codes and shops. I would assume MySQL (commonly used with PHP).

The system probably works something like this:
Table 1 - Shops
Stores the URL and Name

Table 2 - Coupons
Stores coupon code, discount, expiry and notes. Relates to Shops database.

Table 3 - Categories
Stores a list of categories to which you would be able to assign each shop.

When an item is clicked a frames page is generated based on the appropriate shop. The main frame is loaded with the URL from the shop database and the top frame is generated by listing all entries from the coupons database which relate to that shop.

Updates are probably done through a web-based interface. There would be a 'new store' input page, a 'new coupon' input page (where the store is selected from a dropdown menu) and there may be an administrative script which is automatically run each night to delete outdated coupons.

All you will really need is PHP and MySQL (a shared Linux host would be fine for this). The javascript and frames are supported by all hosts. If you want to run an automated script you will probably need a 'Crontab' option, but it's not vital.

If you need any more help with the system or would like me to create it for you (for a reasonable cost) please don't hesitiate to let me know!

David,
thanks so much for your help. I've been just about pulling my hair out trying to get info/help on this issue. I'm not sure I fully understand everything you said (as sad as that sounds!) but you gave me a point to start from, so that I can learn about this. I want to learn about how to do this for myself, but right now It might be easier for me to just have someone set it up for me. If you could set this up for me, how much do you estimate this would cost? also, would this be like a program that I could maintain myself and keep if I had happened to move to another host once you have already set this up for me? thank you again, you are the only knowledgeable help I've gotten!
jmb