What kind of database is it? Are you talking about individual database tables within WordPress’ own database or do you mean a really separate, second database?
Thread Starter
abcman
(@abcman)
I wanted to create a database that contains names and certificate numbers where people can search based on for example the certificate number so basically it is an individual database that I need to find away to access and allow users of the website to search in. If there is a video or a free plugin I can use then I am much appreciated.
I think you’re making it too complicated for yourself. You do not need your own database for this. You can also maintain the data within WordPress. You would have to create a custom post type in which you store the names and numbers. You can then make this custom post type searchable using a form in the frontend.
You can implement such custom post types yourself. There is a chapter on this in the developer manual for plugin development: https://developer.ww.wp.xz.cn/plugins/post-types/
If you don’t want to program yourself, you can also use plugins that allow you to create something like this. For example, ACF is widely used: https://ww.wp.xz.cn/plugins/advanced-custom-fields/ – you can look up how to do it there in their documentation.
There are also other alternatives, although they are not as comprehensive as ACF: https://ww.wp.xz.cn/plugins/tags/custom-post-types/
