# Database

A database is an organised store of information such as customers, orders and products, where programs can quickly search, save and change it.

Source: https://ibenta.no/en/glossary/database
Publisher: Ibenta (https://ibenta.no)
Updated: 2026-09-27

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A spreadsheet is a kind of small database. The difference is that a real database copes with many people writing to it at once, keeps track of how the tables relate to each other and finds one order among millions in an instant. WordPress, for example, stores your pages and posts in a MySQL or MariaDB database, according to [the requirements on wordpress.org](https://wordpress.org/about/requirements/).

## Websites with and without a database

A simple website does not necessarily need a database. The pages can sit ready-made as files, and then there is less that can break or be attacked. As soon as the site has to remember something, such as a booking, a customer account or an order, it needs somewhere to store it. That is where a database comes in.

It is also where your valuable data lives. The customer list and the order history are often worth more than the website itself.

## Ask who holds the key

If you use an online store, a booking system or a [CMS](/en/glossary/cms) from a supplier, send them one question today: can you get a full export of your data, for example as CSV, if you want to switch? The answer tells you a lot about how locked in you are. Ask at the same time whether the database is included in the [backup](/en/glossary/backup), not just the files.