Where can I go to learn how to do back end web design?

Question

I already know a LOT of HTML and have been building websites since 1993. I have even sold a few, but I mainly donate them. As I do not want to be editing and updating the same websites every week forever, how do I go about setting up a website that someone else can edit easily without having to rely on me and my HTML and web design software knowledge?

I mainly need to know how to build something like the “Manage Link Gear” on HTMLgear.com and an end user updateable calendar. I also need to know how to do a message board of some sort, but that can wait as I can use free stuff for a while. Here is the one I am currently looking to add some of these back end options too: http://fbcommunitygarden.com/ This group needs a way to upload text and images to one page, update a calendar, a message board, and a user area.
This group needs to be able to change out pictures of animals and update a calendar on this site that I made as well: http://cfprescue.com/

I know about HTMLgear and other similar sites, but I want to learn how to do these things myself so the sites do not have to link to their site and I can customize it more and not have adds on it. Is there a particular programming language or languages that I should learn? If so, are there free tutorials online? I won’t have any money until my husband gets another job, but when I do, are there classes at a community college for the programming side of it? If so, what are they usually called? I live in the Dallas area.

bonus points go to - Although, I do not need this right now… I would also like to learn how to do databases. That might not even be the right term. I want to be able to put all of my images online and search for them something like istockphoto.com only just for my photos as I have a lot. I also want to learn how to allow users to make their own user names to log in and enter in their volunteer hours, etc.

Answer 1

you probably need to learn either ASP or PHP. Both are fairly hefty languages capable of database integration and whole bunch more. ASP is similar to Visual Basic and pretty easy to learn.



ASP is supported by Microsoft's Visual Web Developer which you can get as a free download from http://www.microsoft.com/express/vwd/



PHP is good as well and well supported. Some free hosts offer it so learning and running it shouldn't be much of a problem. See http://www.free-webhosts.com/ for hosts that offer it.



THe PHP community has provided all sorts of free, open source applications that you can utilize, including shopping carts, image galleries and forums. Being open source you can adapt them to a wide range of situations rather than have to build entire applications yourself.



Another popular platform and growing all the time recently is SharePoint, but that is probably a bit more specialized than you want to get.



As to tutorials, both ASP and PHP have loads of resources available. However you learn the languages there are always plenty of people to give a helping hand and being net savvy you can probably find your own tutorials.



http://www.google.com/search?q=ASP+developer+forum

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=php+developer+forum

Answer 2

You need to learn php, so you can build dynamic database-driven websites that the owners can update from an admin area. There are lots of sites that have tutorials, but most of them are written by expert programmers for other expert programmers who want to learn a new language. They don't seem to have any concept what it is to be a beginner. Most PHP books stop long before you are able to do anything useful.



I didn't make any progress until I bought the book "PHP Solutions - Dynamic Web Design Made Easy" by David Power. It will teach you how to make an integrated package, not a bunch of isolated widgets feeding things onto your page.

Answer 3

HTML is a static website language. It is best to learn it first, but you will soon learn that there is no real "programming" to it. It only, (yes only) tells the browser what, where, and how to display. CSS is "Cascading Style Sheets." It essentially is the same as the "style" section of HTML, but in the case that you want to make many web pages with the same general style, you can have the HTML file use the specified CSS file for its formatting. JavaScript is a Client-Side dynamic scripting language. In essence, it spits out HTML for the browser to view, but all the work is done by the browser itself, so it is not secure. It is very useful for doing things that require quick animations. PHP is a Server-Side dynamic scripting language. That means the web server off somewhere processes the script based on other information, then sends the browser a raw HTML file. Your browser can never see the PHP script, so it is secure. PHP is noted for its ability to work with MySQL and sessions. SQL is a database-side scripting language. It works with a Database-Management-System(DBMS). SQL does not do any processing itself. The DBMS does. Examples of DBMSes include MySQL, Microsoft Access, Microsoft SQL Server, and others. There are also many other client side scripting languages, such as xHTML, XML, etc. The same goes for server-side scripting languages. JSF (JavaServer Faces) is a very good one. Some other popular ones are ASP, ASPX, and JSP. Feel free to email me if you have any questions.