Need some advice on website design

Pub07

Im a total newbie when it comes to website design, Im fairly handy with C++ programming but when it comes to the web I havent the slightest clue. Im looking to create a site where people can enter info and search for info, something along the lines of daft.ie for example.

What software would I need to create such a site? And just so I have an idea would sites like daft.ie or say bebo take long to develop, they seem fairly simple to me from a programming point of view but as I said Ive no experience with web development.

Cheers.

John_Mc

Pub07 wrote: »

Im a total newbie when it comes to website design, Im fairly handy with C++ programming but when it comes to the web I havent the slightest clue. Im looking to create a site where people can enter info and search for info, something along the lines of daft.ie for example.

What software would I need to create such a site? And just so I have an idea would sites like daft.ie or say bebo take long to develop, they seem fairly simple to me from a programming point of view but as I said Ive no experience with web development.

Cheers.

I'd recommend ASP.net with C#. The IDE is available for free from asp.net and there are loads of tutorials, videos and blogs to get help from.

The main difference with this type of development is the requirement to provide well structured HTML & CSS. There's a learning curve but it's definitely worth learning and is a valuable skill.

Goodluck and enjoy!

Pub07

Cheers, will i need some database software too?

John_Mc

Pub07 wrote: »

Cheers, will i need some database software too?

ASP.net integrates very nicely with Ms Sql server, you can browse the DB and setup queries using an interface in Visual Studio / Visual Web developer (Free).

You can get a free version of the MS SQL server called "Express Edition". I would definitely recommend you go this route because even though ASP.net can work with almost any data source, you get a load of UI interfaces which provide common functionality without writing a line of code with SQL server (and Access to a lesser extent).

jmcc

Pub07 wrote: »

And just so I have an idea would sites like daft.ie or say bebo take long to develop, they seem fairly simple to me from a programming point of view but as I said Ive no experience with web development.

They are more complex than they seem. It is good design that makes them look simple. There are some threads discussing the development of beboesque type sites in this forum.

Regards...jmcc

Liam Byrne

I'd recommend the other combo - PHP with MySQL as the database.

p

It's quite easy to get started playing with PHP if you're interested in dabbling, but if this is a career move then C# & ASP.net could be more lucrative and more versatile in the long run.

All depends on what you're at.

Knowing HTML & CSS is a large part of building a website. Also the ctual design side f things is crucial too. Large sites like Bebo etc... would have multiple developers and designers on board to build it, but you could build something very basic as a demo in a reasonable time.

Good luck!

Liam Byrne

p wrote: »

It's quite easy to get started playing with PHP if you're interested in dabbling, but if this is a career move then C# & ASP.net could be more lucrative and more versatile in the long run.

That seems to imply that ASP.net is the only option for an actual career ?

While Microsoft would love you to believe that, LOADS of impressive and substantial websites are built using the PHP/MySQL/jQuery combination.

Maybe more lucrative, but definitely not more versatile.

p

That wasn't my intention at all. I've pretty much only worked in PHP environments in my career to date.

However, learning C# and .Net would be quite flexible since it allows you to also play around with other technologies like Silverlight and application development with ease. So, for someone who's not sure what area they'd like to work in, it could be quite a good choice.

Pub07

Ok Ive got asp.net and vwd, been doing a few tutorials, everything seems fine. Another question though - Where does a web design program like dreamweaver come into this? Is it an alternative to using vwd or can you use them together, and is there any benefit in doing so?

The Mighty Ken

It doesn't really matter what you learn as long as you learn it properly.

Pub07

I agree but that doesn't answer my question.

John_Mc

Pub07 wrote: »

Ok Ive got asp.net and vwd, been doing a few tutorials, everything seems fine. Another question though - Where does a web design program like dreamweaver come into this? Is it an alternative to using vwd or can you use them together, and is there any benefit in doing so?

Better off using VWD and coding the HTML by hand in source code view. Dreamweaver won't offer you nearly as much integration with the UI's VWD provides to speed up the process.

In short, stick with VWD in my opinion.

The Mighty Ken

Pub07 wrote: »

I agree but that doesn't answer my question.

The answer to your question? Well with your backgroud, I'd recommend learning .NET.

As for whether it's easy to build a site like Daft.ie - nope! Nor would it be cheap (particularly if it grew as popular). Not could you do it on your own (successfully) without help from a good designer, front end developer, etc.

hobochris

Liam Byrne wrote: »

I'd recommend the other combo - PHP with MySQL as the database.

Personally id recommend the other combo
Jsp with any database you chose(oracle, mysql,derby,postgres,sql server)...:D

p

Pub07 wrote: »

Ok Ive got asp.net and vwd, been doing a few tutorials, everything seems fine. Another question though - Where does a web design program like dreamweaver come into this? Is it an alternative to using vwd or can you use them together, and is there any benefit in doing so?

If you're going down the microsoft route, then get Microsoft Expression Web, and install IIS (Microsoft's Web Server) on your computer. That'll help you get started and write scripts because you'll have your own server on your PC. This might help:

http://www.learnexpression.com/Videos/EW-01/Video1/Introduction-to-Microsoft-Expression-Web-01.html
http://thinkvitamin.com/features/dotnet/building-a-web-app-the-microsoft-way/
http://expression.microsoft.com/en-us/cc136522.aspx

Pub07

Ok ty for all the advice, Im gonna stick vwd and asp.net for the moment, there seems to lots of options and seeing as how I started with this one I might as well stick with it for the time being.

John_Mc

Pub07 wrote: »

Ok ty for all the advice, Im gonna stick vwd and asp.net for the moment, there seems to lots of options and seeing as how I started with this one I might as well stick with it for the time being.

You should be able to pick it up pretty quick, the videos and tutorials on asp.net and intellisense in VWD make things a lot easier that they used to be!

DUB

Liam Byrne wrote: »

I'd recommend the other combo - PHP with MySQL as the database.

Lots of ready made Content management, blog, forums and other systems are built in php, they're generally very useful systems!