Ms access as a cms

hello.

i am hoping to get some guidance on the best way to create a web site.

as far as i can tell, the will need a cms because i want the ability to list multiple items, have the user select some of the multiple items and then recieve a list of options dependant on what was selected.

i've created this funcitonality in a MS Access database. i've never built a website or even know how to go about it. can i use this mdb as the backend?

can anyone direct me on what would be the next step?

thanks a bunch.
Tuk

You can create data access pages through Access to use for retrieving data and such, but I have no clue if this will make your website work more efficiently that simply getting a free CMS script to run on your server. I use Access a LOT at work, and I built a simple switchboard for employees to use to enter, edit and retrieve data. However our network is a secure network, and no data is being sent over the internet. I do not know much at all about the security aspect or abilities of the switchboard or data access pages, so I cannot advise using either. If you are building a webpage which will be used by anyone who wants to browse to it, that would greatly impair your ability to secure your DB, and anyone with a little DB Knowledge and a motive could easily screw your entire system up. However if you know who needs access to the data, then you can use the security settings to make it somewhat secure.

I honestly think it would be a lot more work doing it this way rather than using a good CMS. I personally use Joomla, and am very happy with them.