Web Design - Languages used for Web 2.0 sites

Hey,

I will admit it- I know very little about web design, whether that be html, java, flash, or anything else, but I would really like to learn. Unfortunately, I'm not quite sure where to start. My end goal is to build a website based on a concept I've had for several years and I'd like the site to look snazzy and be easy to use. My question is this- what language should I begin learning? If I wanted to build a site that had a fancy GUI (I think I can use that term in this situation) like pageonce.com, apple.com, or even wikipedia.com, what language would I use?

Thanks for the help.

 

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To build a decent website it's a number of Languages.

For instance a plain straight forwards place to begin is of course HTML (Hypertext Markup Language). You'd need to get your bearings with that before anything else, however it's *not* a programming language, just a way to format things.

You've then got things like Javascript and CSS which are Clientside (They are loaded to and run from the Browser). Javascript is a language, however it's limited in regards to what it can do (It was meant to be a "Safezone" language where it couldn't write directly to your hard-drive or erase data.) Javascript should not be confused with Microsoft's JScript or Java.

CSS is just another Formatting Language, well technically a "Cascading Style Sheet" it compliments HTML but allows more complex formatting capabilities that pure HTML can't do alone.

Next you have Serverside Languages that reside as CGI (Common Gateway Interfaces), for instance PHP, Perl and Python (as well as Java and C++) can run serverside. (Along with a few MS related languages)

You then have the potential need for a Database. Small sites you could use .db files to store the data arrays, however larger sites (like this one, or Wiki) would require you to decide on database software. For the most part, most people pick MySQL or another flavour of SQL.

On top of that there is of course the question of what Webserver you use, most people would probably suggest Apache because of a number of configurable modules that allow Apache to rewrite URL's or filter URL's based on entries you input.

Do not expect to write a new website from scratch in a week without understanding all these things, as each can take weeks/months/years to master alone.

 

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If you have no programming experience then I'd strongly recommend that you *not* start with Java as its probably the hardest to learn.
HTML is probably a good place to start as its very easy but as Styder pointed out it is definitely not a programming language.

If you want to build a site with a really fancy GUI, as you said, then your best choices would probably be either Dreamweaver, a WYSIWYG editor (What You See Is What You Get) because its really easy to use, or Flash which is not that hard to use and is *much* more powerful in terms of what you can do.

If you happen to choose Flash then I can help you out there as AS3 (the latest version of the programming language for Flash) is kind of my forte.

 

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The interface is going to be the easiest part. Like Entropy said, I would also recommend using Dreamweaver, and use Flash.

But, most web2.0 sites have extensive serverside applications. Also if you plan on having users that can log in, that just ballooned your project way up. Then you have to have code that manages session states, handles multiple users, security, etc.

Any time you have content that you want to store in a database, you have to at least have some serverside script that sends the queries.

My main point is that you really shouldn't worry about the GUI too much. If you design your system properly, it should be relatively easy to change the GUI. With proper system-level design, you would have a separation of concerns between the modules (read about Model View Controller, or MVC architecture). Basically, the GUI is just paint, but you still have to build the house first.

 

Thanks for all the great responses. I have a slight bit of HTML experience, although I do know C++ and python to some extent. I guess the question now is where to start. Any good book recommendations?

Btw, I'm all for helping out and trading assistance when I can. I have a degree in physics; that's more of my cup of tea, so to speak.

 

Well if you've had some experience with C++ then Java and AS3 shouldn't really be a problem, AS3s syntax is probably closer to C++ then Java is and IMO its easier to learn.
Some excellent books to start with might be:
AS3:
Wiley ActionScript 3.0 Bible
OReilly Essential ActionScript 3.0
Java:
Head First Java

You should also be able to but your knowledge of python to good use writing some of the server side code.
Oh yeah and check out php too:
http://www.php.net/