So I want to build a website ..

k.p.h

I'm just considering a little side project at the moment, a website that sells "stuff". I know that's not the most ground breaking idea and my requirements are extreemly vague at the moment (since I don't have a product yet) but I think it might be a good project to attempt for the experience as I am studying Comp Sci.

I have no experience in Web Dev so I was just wondering what the process actually entails and what things needs to be considered. Since I don't have a product yet I am more interested in the technical side of things at the moment and not so much design and marketing.

Where do I start..? Whats languages should I use.? What IDE ..? Is their anything specifically that should be used at the outset for an e commerce site..?

Placebo

Back end : PHP + MySQL [this is where all your information is stored/database]
front end: html+css [javascript as well, but you can get away with no js for learning purposes]

theres lots of stuff out there
http://www.opencart.com/
http://www.joomla.org/

etc but if you want to learn, do it yourself, make it simple. You'll learn alot.

John_Mc

Placebo wrote: »

Back end : PHP + MySQL [this is where all your information is stored/database]
front end: html+css [javascript as well, but you can get away with no js for learning purposes]

theres lots of stuff out there
http://www.opencart.com/
http://www.joomla.org/

etc but if you want to learn, do it yourself, make it simple. You'll learn alot.

An alternative to PHP is Microsoft ASP.net. I'd recommend looking at MVC 3 with Entity Framework.

As already said, keep it simple and take your time. You'll learn loads from doing it yourself.

k.p.h

Wow ..! I'v just been doing a little bit of googling, suffice to say things have changed a little since I done some messing with html years ago. I knew web pages were dynamically created now days but being honest I had no clue to the extent.

One thing that immediately seems a little blurred and hard to understand is the difference between a framework and language in regard to web dev.

From wiki PHP is a language, but asp.net is a framework that supports lot of different languages..? Whats the deal ..?

I don't want to dismiss you suggestion straight out John_Mc but would I be right in thinking that PHP is one of the more useful/common languages used.

John_Mc

k.p.h wrote: »

Wow ..! I'v just been doing a little bit of googling, suffice to say things have changed a little since I done some messing with html years ago. I knew web pages were dynamically created now days but being honest I had no clue to the extent.

One thing that immediately seems a little blurred and hard to understand is the difference between a framework and language in regard to web dev.

From wiki PHP is a language, but asp.net is a framework that supports lot of different languages..? Whats the deal ..?

I don't want to dismiss you suggestion straight out John_Mc but would I be right in thinking that PHP is one of the more useful/common languages used.

No real difference really, .Net is described as a framework because you can use either Visual Basic or C# as a language with it.

I would actually say that learning .Net would be more useful because you aren't limited to just websites with it. You can also use it for Rich media with Silverlight,desktop applications, web services, and mobile applications.

PHP can only do web applications.

You can achieve everything that you can with PHP using .Net.

k.p.h

Quick question everyone

I'v decided to start off with the php/sql route and I'm working my way through beginner php tutorials. I'm finding them quite easy to understand as, well it's very similar to any other language in most ways.

One thing though is the html, I have no real experience of it bar some messing with dream weaver years ago. Since php/html are interlinked in the tutorials I am doing I am coming across some stuff I am not familiar with, I am working through it OK and figuring it as I go. What I was wondering is should I view html as something separate that I should do tutorials in or is it something that can be learned as I go through the php?

Sorry John_Mc, decided to go with the php etc, for various reasons. Appreciate the advice all the same.

John_Mc

No worries. Just means that there's less competition for me with .Net jobs in a few years

About the HTML, it's a skill in itself. You can learn the two in tandem, but definitely check out tutorials covering the basics of HTML and CSS before going down the PHP route.

Once you're comfortable with that, start looking at Javascript and frameworks such as jQuery.

Web development is harder than application development because it requires a lot more skills. Html, CSS, Javascript, Design applications such as Photoshop, SQL etc etc.

Take it one step at a time and you won't get overwhelmed. So I'd suggest getting your head around HTML & CSS, PHP & MySQL, then Javascript. The latter allows you to add some nice polish to your website

k.p.h wrote: »

Quick question everyone

I'v decided to start off with the php/sql route and I'm working my way through beginner php tutorials. I'm finding them quite easy to understand as, well it's very similar to any other language in most ways.

One thing though is the html, I have no real experience of it bar some messing with dream weaver years ago. Since php/html are interlinked in the tutorials I am doing I am coming across some stuff I am not familiar with, I am working through it OK and figuring it as I go. What I was wondering is should I view html as something separate that I should do tutorials in or is it something that can be learned as I go through the php?

Sorry John_Mc, decided to go with the php etc, for various reasons. Appreciate the advice all the same.

k.p.h

Brilliant, that's a clear course of action. I think you understand where I was coming from, their are so many aspects to look at and they all seem to compliment each other it's hard to know what to look at first.

I'm just looking at functions in php now so when I'm done with that I will spend some time trying to come up to speed with html & css before coming back to php and databases.

Thanks again I'm sure I will be back with more questions :P

MOH

Good place to start with the basics.

k.p.h

I'v actually been using that site, it's excellent and very easy reference. Thanks

Spent a few hours with html and css yesterday, worked through the basics and TBH it all seems pretty straight forward, I presume it gets more complicated the more you delve into it.

I really just needed to understand how forms worked, so I could put the data into arrays and then save in a file. After a few hours of tinkering and a bit of persuasion with apache I got it going. Interesting stuff really.

Placebo

i always found tiztag.com to be great for php
site looks a bit outtaded but ull get a good overview in a nice succession manner

http://www.tizag.com/phpT/

web designer meath

If you just want to do some 'messing' and sell 'stuff' in the near future, diving into HTML etc. might not be such as good idea. Check out some of the Content Management systems (like wordpress or Magento), for which you don't necessarily need to know any code. Otherwise, if you're interested in code, start with HTML, move onto CSS and then PHP / MYSQL