Posted by Adrienne Boswell on 06/07/06 06:27

Gazing into my crystal ball I observed "Michael Laplante"
<nowhereman@twilightzone.net> writing in
news:YBqhg.17924$I61.2748@clgrps13:

> I maintain a couple of "brochure" web sites. Looking to the future
> though, I can see a need for some sort of interactivity. For example,
> one business would like to have the ability for people to register for
> their courses via the web site.
>
> So I'm looking for opinions or suggestions on the following:
>
> (Keep in mind I know nothing beyond html and css.)
>
> 1. Should I bother to learn some sort of scripting for this purpose?
> Or, can I use some sort of online service for this process?

It seems to me everytime I have a client that wants something, and I try
to find a script or service for it, it's not quite what's needed so I
wind up rolling my own.

You should absolutely learn some server side languages, even if to only
be able to tweak a script you found somewhere.

>
> 2. If scripting is recommended what sort of scripting do you suggest?

I would suggest (PHP or ASP) and SQL. SQL is Structured Query Language,
for manipulating databases.

>
> 3. Can this sort of thing be self-taught? Can it be self-taught
> easily?

Yes, it can. I am proficient in ASP and SQL, and am sharpening my PHP
skills.

>
> 4. Are there website tutorials / sites etc that you can recommend.

For PHP, go to the source, <http://www.php.net>, or go to
<http://www.w3schools.com> where there are tutorials on PHP as well as
ASP, ADO and SQL.

>
> This is all kinda vague I realize. I'm putting the cart before the
> horse but at this point website design is more of a hobby -- albeit a
> paying one -- than a profession. Perhaps my question should be:
>
> If I wanted to make website design a profession, beyond html / css
> what do you think would be the next thing I should learn and what
> steps would you suggest to achieve that?
>

I would start out simple, get your feet wet with a few includes and some
if statements. Then you can try your hand at SQL. SQL is not really
very difficult, and once you get used to having things in tables, you'll
want to put everything in them (but resist).

--
Adrienne Boswell at Home
Arbpen Web Site Design Services
http://www.cavalcade-of-coding.info
Please respond to the group so others can share

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