what to learn when developing a website?

howdy!

i'm a website-development illiterate.. very

but i wanted to learn..

let me know..

what should i know or what should i learn to develop a simple website??

just a simple one..

with forums and free ads site with some integration as they call it.... as well as using joomla as content management...

thanks!

 

If you're talking forums and content management systems then it's not really a "simple" website anymore =P

A simple website would be just HTML and CSS, but it's pretty boring. As far as software goes like forum scripts and CMSs, the best thing is to just jump right in. vBulletin is a great forum script to use, one of the best. I don't mess much with CMSs myself, I prefer to custom build web apps =)

 

It all depends on what you want your site to do.

Mostly understanding just HTML/CSS you can get by with being able to design a nice looking layout for a site.

Now, if you are wanting to do "Forums" which you said, learning some PHP wouldn't hurt, as they are coded in php. But, you don't have to know to much php, as they are embedded with html/css.

So the HTML/CSS really is your way to go. Also, I know there are alot of WYSIWYG editors like Dreamweaver, that bascially you just put the stuff in that you need and it does all the coding for you, it is still really helpful to know the code to be able to in and make nice subtile changes to your code later to have it do exactally what you want it to do.

 

Scrap Joomla, its trash.

To "be able to do everything" so to speak, you'll need these languages:
- HTML
- CSS
- PHP/MySQL (though SQL is not much of language, it works together with PHP)
- Javascript

With those 4, there is nothing you can't do.

Start with HTML+CSS - learn enough that you are comfortable to create sites, or modify existing templates.

 

With advertising thrown in, I'd maybe add "SEO" to that list of rochow's, or at least, have an idea how search engines find and categorise web pages. No bullshit, just have some general knowledge of what to do and what not to do.

 

Other than languages, yep SEO. You don't have to be pro, just have an idea of what you are doing. Same goes with marketing - you aren't going to make money if your copy is rubbish, no matter how good you are (notice that my portfolio has just an intro, no real copy? Its because I write dribble which reduces sales, not increases)

 

This thread has already been pretty much answered, but I can throw in my experiences.

I know a little html and css and this has got me by fine when creating simple websites and editing pre-made ones - there's not much need to go beyond this if simple sites are all you require, but it's always nice to learn more.

With regards to Content Management Systems and Forums, there's not much you need to know with regards to languages. Having set up a few CMS's myself in the past (php nuke mainly), as well as forums (phpBB) and blogs (Wordpress) you only really need knowledge of creating a database for it to run on (mysql in my case) which can usually be done with your webspace control panel, and a user for this again created in the CP. From this, simply upload the files to your webspace. After this, they're generally fully automated. CMS's and forums, the ones I've used anyway, are all managed via a user interface within them, so again no need for knowledge of languages.

As far as advertising goes, this site is full of great information - likewise with SEO. Good luck!

C

 

To become and independent and effiicient web developer you'll necessarily need:

1) HTML (or to be precise XHTML) - just a markup language. You absolutely need to understand this though it isn't difficult. 100% must-know.
2) CSS - another 100% must-know issue. For separating content from its visual presentation (basically your stylesheet defines where what parts of your website should appear and how should they look...).
2) JavaScript - client-side scripting. Very useful for making your websites more user friendly and exciting. There are many nice tricks and enhancements you can achieve with JavaScript (+ AJAX which is a part of JS).
3) Server-side scripting language of your choice - PHP, ASP, Ruby etc...
4) Structure query language to control databases (MySQL, MySQLi, Oracle etc).
5) Basic understanding of SEO, SEM and internet marketing.

Secondly, there are things you do not need but they are highly beneficial and I recommend considering them:

1) Web standards (partially related to SEO) - i.e. how to make your website standards compliant, how to make it accessible, crossbrowser compatible etc...
2) XML - extensible markup language that allows you do create your own elements (tags). Useful for RSS feeds, sitemaps and much more.

That's about it.

CMS and forums - basically you won't need to reinvent the wheel here. There are lots of free or paid CMS and forum scripts, some of them better, some of them worse, but definately there are many to choose from. You probably won't need extreme knowledge of PHP (or other server-side language) in order to work with them or customize them but still you'll need to know at least basic syntax and functions.

It is pretty diffciult to code your own (secure, reliable, fast and extensible) forum or CMS script if that's what you want to do but it's certainly possible. You will need to master PHP/MySQL (or others of your choice) in order to do that though.

 

wow! i can't believed my eyes really!..

all very willing to help..

thanks a lot to all..

i think i do now know what i have to focus to..

risoknop, you are have given a great time really to type all those words..

thanks! thanks!!

much obliged guys