I am very curious about what you think is the best approach for people that want to start webdevelopment. I'm now talking about people that finished their education and so want to start from scratch.
I still have questions like:
Where do you start?
What software gets involved in webdevelopment?
What tools / setup would you recommend?
Offcourse i'm interested to hear alot more then only the answers to those three questions.
I am not writing this to get a load of people react on my post, i am trully interested in knowing how much work and money it will cost a webdeveloper when starting from scratch.
I hope to get a clear view on how to approach and to maybe hear some best practices.
Well one thing's for sure, education isn't finished! There's a whole lot to learn, and the more we learn the more we seem to need to learn.
If you're really starting from having no programming background whatsoever then I think you'd be advised to take a staged approach. For example:
1). A web page with a few different text formats and pictures and colours. Here you're just learning HTML. For that any browser and a notepad editor would do, but probably a tool such as Eclipse that gives some HTML editing capability would help.
2). More adaptive HTML - stylesheets that let you change appearance without changing all the html. So that's CSS.
3). Using the above, improve your designs. There are loads of formatting tricks good web sites use and you'll need to learn those.
Note that by now we've done a lot of study and we have not actually written any programs!
4). Dynamic web pages. Now we move to the programming side, rather than just writing some HTML files write a program that delivers the HTML and in some way changes the content. Starting with something really simple such as including "today's date is ..." on the page. For that You would need to pick a server development technology such as Ruby/Rails or PHP or Java/JSP ... You'll get a lot of different advise about "best" for this.
5). Now you can start to work on accepting input from the user and doing something with it so that useful work gets done. Things such as databases start to become important.
There's a whole load more after that, JavaScript and so on. An experienced programmer can pick up this kind of stuff quite quickly, if you've never done any programming at all then you will need to be prepared to take a while before you can get to the level you probably target. I think the key is to acknowledge that a great commercial web site reflects a lot of collective wisdom and skill picked up over many years, and probably is the result of a multi-disciplinary team working together. For one person to match that is a big ask. For one person to produce something nice and useful is more practical, but still does need a lot of different skills. It's quite reasonable to specilaise in a subset of the skills. For example, good visual designers write little or no code but are highly valuable.
you need:
a browser, eg. FireFox, Internet Explorer. A webdeveloper toolbar might also be useful.
a webserver, eg. Apache, Tomcat, IIS
a programming environment, eg. Php or ASP.NET
a development tool, eg. Notepad, Notepad++, Visual Studio .NET, Eclipse
most of the times a database, eg. SQL Server, mySQL
I'd say it depends what you want them to master: the technologies only (up to which skill level ?) or the whole software engineering behind a web project
A sample and fast technologies learning tree could be:
1) HTML
2) CSS
3) HTTP
4) Server side programming (PHP ?): programming concepts, interacting with HTML/CSS, then PHP API
5) Databases (start simply with MySQL for instance) + SQL (CRUD with Joins, Subselect, Indexes, Views and Transactions)
6) Client side programming (JavaScript first then Ajax)
7) A web framework (ZEND ? cake ?) and a good IDE (lots of...)
Full-time learning those technologies requires at least 1.5 year , based on the experience I have with my students and people must be trained mainly on concrete projects.
Then people should learn software engineering (cf link text) covering at least
- software requirements
- software design
- software construction
- software testing
I think people can have useful experience in this software engineering tree in 1 year and can (should) combine learning technologies with learning software engineering.
For training someone from scratch (technologies + software engineering) I'd say a least 2 years if working on at least three 6-month projects
This answer is Microsoft specific.
For starters you'll need an editor, a (optional) database and a few starting points.
Microsoft supplies most of these for free: you can download the Visual Studio Webdeveloper 2008 Express Edition for free, this includes most of the stuff you'll need.
If you plan on developing database driven websites, and who isn't, you might want to use the free SQL Server 2008 Express Edition
When you have the tools setup it's time to download some samples and see see how they work. Again Microsoft supplies some for free. You can check out tutorials and samples at their Asp.Net site.
When you are ready for some more advanced stuff, check out ASP.NET MVC, again at Microsoft.
With these tools and examples you should be able to get started.
I just want to add that you will most likely also need Photoshop or other tool to create the graphics for your web sites.
In spite of java/.net/php,the HTML,CSS,JavaScript are the basic web development toolkit.
Get a job as a junior developer that will put you on a project that is developing a web application. I personally think it should involve one of the two most established platforms, Java or .Net. I know some will disagree, but these are good foundations to branch into other tech platforms later.
Make sure you open an IDE (e.g. Visual Studio or Eclipse) everyday and code something. If not, find a new job immediately.
Read religiously at night. Start with "Code Complete", then move on to other books.
Learn the fundamental technologies of the World Wide Web:
HTTP
HTML
CSS
JavaScript
DNS, URL's
Good luck and happy travels!!
you need:
a google chrome . This provide you some advantage like inspect option. A webdeveloper toolbar might also be useful.
2. Html, Css, JavaScript are the basic language that you should be know
a programming environment, eg. Php or ASP.NET is needed for storing data and making login type page
a Visual Code Studio is needed for coding. This provide you emmet facilities that suggest you while you are coding
Related
I have been working on microsoft based web technologies (.net, sql server, iis) for about an year and would like to know the opensource alternatives for the above. I have heard of LAMP, Java based technologies, ruby on rails etc. Can you please point me to a place where I can find more information about these and how they match up against each other. Basically I am looking for an overview of the popular web technologies in today's world.
Thanks a lot.
Vijay
Hmmm, thats a bit difficult to do, as each language is unique in its design. I guess it's less a case of which is the best, but more which is the best to suit you. Your decision should rest on which language you feel most comfortable working in, for example like you i started off in asp.net 2.0, developing a few web apps... but made the switch over to php, the two are relatively the same, however i found php to be more accessible for the web based tasks i want it to do. Also i use macs primarily as i am a graphic designer in addition to being a web developer, so if i could develop in mac osx that was a big plus.
Perhaps you should start by outlining what environment you want to work in first, and what you'd want to be doing in it.
Then consider cost, we managed to slash the basic costs of running our sites by moving to php, simply because of the licensing differences.
Support is also a biggy, you'll find with open source stuff there is more around since it's generally a lot more accessible to more people, since theres little to no startup cost.
Finally the best way to find out whats best for you is to try them all! you don't have to be an expert in it to know whether its for you, just get a feel for the language and see if it feels flows better with you.
Hope this is of use to you :)
oh and finally, wikipedia has a little comparison thingy, its not really a great comparison but its better than nothing hey?
EDIT:
Hi Again.
I've done a bit of digging and i think i've found what your looking for!
This is a comparison chart someone made, in it details the pros/cons of php, python, perl, asp, and ruby.
Theres also this which is a comparison of some of the frameworks, they've missed quite a few off the php list, namely kohana which is a brilliant framework!
And finally heres a comparison of the three main server types, and their pros/cons.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_web_application_frameworks
Since we are ambitiously aiming to be big, scalability is important, and so are globalization features. Since we are starting out without funding, price/performance and cost of licences/hardware is important. We definitely want to bring AJAX well present in the web interface. But apart from these, there's no further criteria I can come up with.
I'm most experienced with C#/ASP.net, PHP and Java, in that order, but don't turn down other languages (Ruby, Python, Scala, etc.).
How can we determine from the jungle of frameworks the one that suits best our goal?
What other questions should we be asking ourselves?
Reference material: articles, book recommendations, websites, etc.?
For me, the most important things to consider were:
Fantastic lead developers who I trust to keep working on the project.
Googling a question brings a lot of good answers.
Most importantly, I have to like the way the code flows.
Edit: Also they have to be anal about coding standards. If there is inconsistency, I get very annoyed.
Those 3 points brought me to Symfony. It is always using the latest cutting edge features of the latest PHP version. Symfony 2.0 is using namespaces before any other framework.
Two of your points were:
i18n - there is great support for it (helps that the company behind it is French, so i18n is a first class citizen).
Scales - Yahoo Answers and Vimeo use Symfony and contribute back code. If those guys can scale Symfony to 100 million users, you can too :)
It all depends on the type of project you will be developing.
Are you building a web application or a heavy content website or something else?
You also mix up programming languages with frameworks. The frameworks for PHP that I know are: CakePHP, CodeIgnitor, Zend and Symfony. For an out-of-the-box heavy content website I would suggest Drupal or Expression Engine.
It seems you won't be developing yourself. In that case I would determine the cost and availability of programmers and how widely the framework is supported and by who it is backed. The Zend framework is backed by the guys behind PHP, while CodeIgnitor is backed by the guys behind Expression Engine. Drupal has professional support packages,...
IMHO, for something that will have a lot of users, go for a compiled language.
If you don't try it, you will not know. So, I'd say do a small project in each of the frameworks you are seriously thinking about. I would prepare myself to do a lot of testing if it's something I'll be maintaining for some years. It's better to start off on the right foor than to get half way through a project only to realize you took the wrong path. There may be some requirements that end your search. For example, your servers' OS, a framework feature, or scalability. If you lay out your software plans and requirements, you probably will have very little left to choose from - unless your project really is quite generic or simple.
I am the lead instructor of web & internet related courses on a private post high-school institution. My current classes include introductions to HTTP, TCP/IP, (X)HTML/CSS/JavaScript and generic SQL. Next year we will deal mostly with PHP / Java. What, in your opinion, are the most important aspects of web development in contrast and relation to traditional development and what should be the main focus of my lectures?
Of course there is a curriculum I will follow but I would really like to enhance it with everything there is time for, from hypes and semantics to oldschool hardcore scripting.
Keep in mind that I am fortunate enough to deal with highly talented and moderately motivated individuals.
Most important aspects of web development:
Where is this code running? (Client vs Server programming - as many have said)
Who is going to use this? (Know your audience - why are they on your site/app)
How to play nice (copyright, standards, borrowing ideas vs stealing stuff)
How to be resourceful (code libraries, google search and stackoverflow)
Main Focus of lectures
I am a strong believer in contextual learning. Let them choose a project with boundaries and guidelines that will employ the concepts you want to get across. One can spend all day learning syntax and concepts, but real learning is done when you are trying to solve a problem. They will also have more fun.
Summary
Lecture on the How (XHTML,CSS, JS, etc) but only in the context of Who, What and Why.
In my opinion, the most important thing is to teach the difference between server and client programming, and when you would use one over the other. I am so surprised at the number of new graduates that don't understand the difference.
IMHO, the most difficult concept in Web development is that of state and how to maintain it.
If I were designing a Web programming course I think I would get the students to design a simple application framework that attempted to address transparent state maintenance. Dividing them into groups, you could have them take different approaches (server-side, client-side, database supported etc.) approaches to this. And at the end of it I believe that they would have learned a lot more about Web architectures than if you had focussed on producing an actual application.
For front-end web development ((X)HTML/CSS/JavaScript), try the Opera Web Standards Curriculum which:
takes students from complete beginner
to having a solid grounding in
standards-based Web design, including
HTML, CSS, and JavaScript development.
I believe a lot in inspiration. As a new web developer I found it really difficult to make my websites usable, appealing, and well coded. I found inspiration in outside resources such as Nettuts and Smashing Magazine. These websites really opened my mind to all of the features I really could learn and use in my designs/coding.
Well if you are asking for opinion....
Please teach them:
self documenting code.
the difference between client and server
data checking
security
If they have a good understanding of the programming language (which it sounds like they will get with your curriculum) the things that I have listed will be a great improvement.
I also believe that web development can only be taught after first learning a little bit about software engineering. I think agile processes is the best route for teaching students software engineering. It's lightweight and not quite as document driven.
After that I would teach them the basics of client server programming, the http protocol and some basic web programming (PHP and javascript would be sufficient). If there is enough time I would show them the basics of Java EE programming and the differences between that and PHP.
Also cover some of the more advanced materials such as MVC for the web (using JSF) and javascript libraries (JQuery). I would also teach them data access objects and persistent objects.
For my senior research this year I came up with some materials for an upper level college course that requires web programming, web design, and software engineering background. You may look at the basic materials here to get a basic idea of what I thought of a course for an advanced web application development course. I know this may be out of your scope, but it might be a start.
Keep in mind that web programming is a mess and it is your job to provide not just light at the end of the tunnel, but the tunnel itself. I would expand on AaronS's answer:
The difference between client and server.
Web applications run over a network, with all that implies.
There is more than one way to do it. Squared.
In the end you will have to choose what not to teach to actually get somewhere.
If you have a group of motivated people then I will suggest to focus on creating a full web application from scratch, I mean, from requirements elicitation itself.
You could start with a brainstorming session where you get some of your students to take the role of the clients from different perspectives (you will need to came up with the base problem itself) and then another group of students who try to get the "clients" group to express their needs and propose solutions to those problems using via a web application. This will help them to learn one of the biggest problems of development in general which is the interaction with clients and how to get the most information out of them overcoming the usual communication problems. Actually if you can get other non-technical people to act as the clients it will be even better.
Then you can introduce then to a methodology like extreme programming or any other you like. I would suggest an agile one because it will provide faster results and won't get boring that fast, besides, the market appears to be shifting in favor of them.
Now, regarding web development itself, it is really important to get people to understand the need for web standards and how wrong things can go when they are not followed (IE6)
After all this is clear, it will be time for them to realize that in web development most of the time you just have to deal with the differences in platforms in which their applications will be displayed and teach them actual techniques to do so like unobtrusive javascript and progressive enhancement.
Regarding the server side of the equation, I believe it is important to enforce the use of patterns (MVC is a must), code re-use, and all the usual development practices. And be sure they understand that HTTP itself is a stateless protocol and how it is important to handle cookies and sessions in a responsible fashion, here it is important to make sure they understand the differences between the server and the client side.
Also, covering the OWASP top 10 (at least) is a must, the last version is available at: http://www.owasp.org/index.php/Top_10_2007
Some links:
http://www.quirksmode.org/blog/archives/2005/06/three_javascrip_1.html
http://dowebsitesneedtolookexactlythesameineverybrowser.com/
http://forabeautifulweb.com/blog
http://www.alistapart.com/
http://www.owasp.org/index.php/Top_10_2007
Teaching web development (like GUI builder in the old age) has the risk of focusing too much on the front-end and not enough on the back-end. It is too easy to fall into the trap of getting the students to think too much about superficial visual issues (e.g., how to align these two things) rather than core things (how to we effectively compute, calculate, store, etc.).
In addition, many web-development languages are not hallmarks of good programming practices since they tend to be on the dirtier scripting side.
These two factors together, to me, are why languages like PHP often get a bad rep.
If you were teaching people who were actually going to be practicing developers, I would focus separately on the model and on the view, and show how to tie them. But in a high school environment, it's possible that the parents just want their kids to demonstrate some publicly visible stuff for their college applications.
If they are truly talented and motivated, teach them real programming with some web manifestations (e.g., use Java servlets), and leave all the scripting for them to learn in their spare time. A good teacher is invaluable for building good engineering skills, so use your time where it matters.
I honestly do not believe you can do well with web development without having a good background with general software development. If one doesn't pay attention to that he/she will end as a mundane scripter or something.
Would be a good idea if you told us what kind of people with what background you get.
If you got some financial academy graduates, it is not clear what kind of motivation will they have towards any kind of development. If these are engineers or some creative field like design, decorations etc. it will be a different story.
Try to gather a little bit of best-practices from various aspects of development. A little from testing and quality control, a bit from project management, a few things about dealing with customers, security for publicly-exposed software, legal aspects. Not too much, just to paint a big picture.
I would start with introduction to web standards carriculum by Opera.
I think it would give a good understanding of some of the basic concepts in web development
For the programming portion, I would suggest you start with the lowest level / most basic concept you can come up with. The first thing that jumps to my mind is HTML. You could make sure the students understand HTML (and markup in general) and its basic syntax. I think that starting with hand-coded HTML will also give them a greater appreciation for some of the great tools out there that help you generate HTML or other code.
After that, you can get into some tools and technologies surrounding HTML like CSS, JavaScript, and AJAX.
Once the client-side is covered and those concepts are concrete in their minds, you can move onto server side scripting / programming. Most of the languages on the server side simply emit HTML, CSS, JavaScript, etc. to the browser, so understanding those things first is essential.
Finally, start talking about using their new found knowledge to create apps that talk to other systems (databases, web services, etc.). Once all of those basics are in place, you'll probably be done with the class, but then they'll be ready for the 200 level, right?
I like the answer about the difference between client side and server side programming. Since you teach talented/motivated students, I think that some theoretical discussion of the MVC (Model View Controller) architecture might be in order. How it was originally devised for desktop applications, and in that case it was necessary to implement a system that listened for events, so as to be able to keep all facets of the view synchronized with the state of the model as it was modified. But that, under the web paradigm, the listener code is given to you for free in the form of the web server, and the request is the event. And therefore MVC for the web, at least as regards interaction between client and server, should be less complex, with the controller merely mediating between the client and server.
That is, of course, until the advent of Ajax. When now it is appropriate to implement listener code on the client side with Javascript, so as to be able to keep widgets in synch.
I am an MVC junkie so take whats useful from this. Your mileage may vary, but I do think material on MVC is certainly warranted.
Good luck
Since you're getting into the server-side stuff, I would highly recommend going over some basic application security. From keeping applications (Wordpress, PHPBB, etc) up to date and patched, to actual attacks like SQL Injection and Cross-site scripting.
Since it sounds like you're teaching them from the ground up, you have a great opportunity to impress upon them the importance of input filtering and output escaping, legitimate user authentication, and other best practices.
This is very front-end focused as well... but I thought it was a great post.
http://veerle.duoh.com/blog/comments/teach_the_web_right/
[Edit]
She mentions the Opera Web Standards Curriculum as has been mentioned in previous posts, but she also mentions WaSP InterAct Curriculum. That seems like it's still very much in progress, but already has some great resources and links.
Focusing on "Next year we will deal mostly with PHP / Java". I'll focus on Java, since I don't know much about PHP.
Get the model right. Design a model, use the ORM, get this to work sensibly. This is highly reusable stuff. It's the backbone of the application. If this isn't right, the rest will rapidly become a mess.
Get the template presentation right. JSP's shouldn't do too much (they can, but shouldn't). This should have any fancy processing -- that's either a model problem or an action class problem.
Knit these together with Struts action classes and Java Beans that make sense in the domain you're building a solution for.
Add CSS/JavaScript and what-not after it all -- essentially -- works. No amount of JavaScript can fix a fundamentally flawed model.
Core Technology issues (XML, HTML, SQL, etc.) are important, but not central. It's hard to skip around, but you have to skip around.
SQL, ORM, Java first.
HTML, JSP, more Java next.
Struts, Action Classes, etc. and more Java next.
I think that much of the core skills issues need to be covered in a Just-in-Time manner. If you spend too much time on fundamentals of HTML, CSS and SQL, no one's building anything useful.
I want to Switch from Web Designer to Front End Developer or web developer PHP, which skill should I get , Is it Easy to switch from Designer to Developer. I have two years Exp. in Web Designing. Please suggest.
Or should i stick to the Designing what is the Next BIG thing for Designer after DIV layout.
My Current Roles
Conversion PSD to HTML,
fixing Bugs in Different Browsers ,
Strong knowledge of HTML and CSS. I want to Go with the Open source Programming like PHP and MySQL
On the design side you could learn Flash or Silverlight. UX and UI design are hot right now.
On the programming side, are you good at client side programming? JavaScript AJAX etc.
#wazdesign, I didn't come from a design background like you, but I found my niche in Front-End Web Development none-the-less.
I started with Standards-based HTML and CSS and then started working back in the day on the Views and Helper functions in MVC frameworks (with a good team doing the controllers, models etc.)
Ask a competent Web Developer to give you a basic web-server architecture and process demo. Understand how data from the DB gets onto your user's pages, and all the checkpoints the data goes thru on the way.
Once you understand the principles, you can pretty much work with any technology after tooling up with the syntax.
I've listed some terms to research below that are tech-agnostic. I can't help you with the PHP side of things :)
Some books worth reading:
The Design of Everyday things - Don Norman
Don't make me think - Steve Krug
Anything by Luke Wroblewski such as Web Form Design
High Performance Websites (O'Reilly)
Some terms to research:
Interaction Design
MVC Frameworks
Templating systems
HTTP
User Interface
Some tools to use:
Firebug
YSlow for Firebug
I think you're making a good move here. To me you're showing initiative that you want to grow and learn new things. My advice would be that you learn how to program first. The problem with a programming language like PHP is mostly that it is really accessible, meaning that it's is easy to pick-up, copy and paste some code etc. PHP is notorious for it's cut & past scripting mentality but in the hands of a good programmer it is just as good a programming language as any other programming language out there.
So, to avoid becoming a cut & paste PHP programmer learn how to program first. Learn about variables, functions, control statements, algorithms, Object Oriented programming, the technology of the web etc. I would recommend that you pick a book and start learning the basics first before diving in the deep end. This way you will lay a good foundation for yourself and you can avoid becoming a cut & paste programmer.
Good luck!
I moved from "Web Designer" to "User Experience / User Interface Designer" to "Application Architect". Each role built on the next fairly well and no direct programming knowledge was necessarily required, though I think my lack of programming skills as an Architect is not the norm.
I realize you asked about moving into a Developer role, but I thought I'd offer this as an alternative. The market for User Experience people seems to be strong right now, and it's likely that you already have many of the skills required - developing wireframes, designing application workflow, information architecture, etc.
Designer to developer
I've thought a lot about this and wrote an article about the designers mutating into developers for PerlBuzz that covers a lot of the necessary ground (albeit from a Perl the point of view).
The main issues are:
understand why separating: programming code, visual markup, and data is a good thing
learn a bit about MVC, frameworks and HTML templates
learn enough Unix (at least permissions and paths) to get by and understand the command line
try (say) a simple Ruby framework like Sinatra or Ramaze. Camping is great for learning MVC (everything in one small file) but lacks a definitive version at the moment
alternatively, spend a day getting the Python framework Django up and running - it's pretty hot at the moment, Python is a good first language, spares you the SQL, is under very active development, and the extensive documentation is all online
play with JQuery or another Javascript library for client-side goodness
PHP is fine when written well and good for learning how to construct HTML templates, and Symfony seems like a sound framework, but avoid starting off by hacking (say) WordPress or Joomla. You'll only learn... well, how to hack WordPress or Joomla, whereas the real leap is in learning to program.
Some basic requirement:
Need to have strong aptitude
Understand the basics of programming in any language. (C/C++ will be good option to start)
For web development, you should be good in html and javascript along with the backend (PHP, ASP.NET etc.)
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Let's say I woke up today and wanted to create a clone of StackOverflow.com, and reap the financial windfall of millions $0.02 ad clicks. Where do I start?
My understanding of web technologies are:
HTML is what is ultimately displayed
CSS is a mechanism for making HTML look pleasing
ASP.NET lets you add functionality using .NET(?)
JavaScript does stuff
AJAX does asyncronous stuff
... and the list goes on!
To write a good website to I just need to buy seven books and read them all? Are Web 2.0 sites really the synergy of all these technologies?
Where does someone go to get started down the path to creating professional-looking web sites, and what steps are there along the way.
While I have built my knowledge largely based on using the internet to search out what I want to know (w3schools.com helped a lot, as did A List Apart), a few good books have helped me along the way, though they have been platform/language-specific, so I'll avoid mentioning them unless someone is curious. For me, at least, having a book open so that I don't have to resize windows or switch between them is very valuable.
The first part of your list is ok, but the last few items need tweaking. ASP.NET adds server-side functionality (for the most part) to your application. This lives outside of the browser and is thus quite powerful and easily shared with a variety of end-users.
The problem (some say) with server-side processing is that your application must make a new HTTP request when you ask for an action to be performed. So if you click on a link to a page that yields a new set of data, you don't get instant results. The page reloads, or loads a separate page.
Javascript solves this to a degree--it allows you to respond to user input instantaneously. Do you want to display the sum of two numbers when the user clicks a button? You can do it with Javascript.
The problem with Javascript is that it can't talk directly to databases, or explore your server's file system, or other stuff like that. It lives in the browser--period.
AJAX bridges the gap between your user's browser and your server. With AJAX, Javascript makes the HTTP request without refreshing your page or loading a new one. Javascript talks to a server-side script (not necessarily ASP, either--works with PHP, Rails, Coldfusion, etc.) and sends and receives information. And because Javascript isn't dependent on page loads, a quick, snappy AJAX script can almost give the feeling of a common desktop application, in which you don't have to wait for HTTP requests when performing simple actions on your application's data.
I think that this series of Opera Articles will give you a good idea of web standards and basic concepts of web development.
2014 update: the Opera docs were relocated in 2012 to this section of webplatform.org:
http://docs.webplatform.org/wiki/Main_Page
Ian's answer has a lot of weight. You could buy all those books and read them all and know nothing about web development. What you really need to do is start with something that is not nearly as big as Stack Overflow. Start with your personal site. Read some web dev/css articles on a list apart. Learn about doctypes and why to use them. Add some css and change the colors around. Go over to quirksmode and peruse the site. Add some js. Follow some links on Crockfords site. You will probably stumble across his awesome video lectures, which you should watch. Then after that go back to all the js that you wrote and rewrite it. Then pick a server side language that you want to learn. Python is pretty easy, but it really doesn't matter what you pick. Then come back and integrate all those together in your site. At this point you will at least be getting started with web development and will have worked with several different technologies.
EDIT: I forgot to mention. READ BOOKS.
Many developers that I have worked with in the past have gotten through their career without really advancing after a certain point. I could be totally wrong, but I attribute it to not reading enough books and relying on using their same bad code over and over.
You could go out and buy a bunch of books and start reading them and quickly get overwhelmed in the seemingly massive learning curve it takes to go from nowhere, which is where it appears you are, to a rich internet entrepreneur, which is where you want to be.
Alternatively, and what I would suggest is, you could define a problem you want to solve, and then go about finding the solution to that problem. Start with something small. "I have a problem: I don't have a web site about myself.". Define what you need to do to solve that problem, learn the basics, and do it. Then, define a new problem, which probably relies on the solution to the first problem, find what you need to do, and do it.
This is how all technology professionals evolve. My first website was a personal site with nothing but text. Then I added some jokes and some movie quotes. Then I got tired of man-handling all the updates to I learned how to put them into a database and retrieve them from the database for display. It goes on and on.
Call me when you've got more money from your financial windfall than you know what to do with.
If you really just want to jump in with both feet, I would suggest looking at ColdFusion from Adobe. The developer edition is free and runs on windows, os x and linux. The documentation is authoritative and extensive, there is a very active developer community and only a few books you might want to dig into. The definitive guide is a series of books that can be found on Amazon
The nice thing about ColdFusion is that you can use it as a stepping stone to other languages and remain productive along the way. You can even mix it together with Java since it is itself written in java. There are also lots of goodies built in that you would have to scour the web for or pay more for in other languages. Things like full text indexing, graphing, server monitoring, ajax based controls, flash/flex integration, asynch os calls, etc.
You even have the choice of building object oriented code or procedural code, although some people would not count that as a benefit. Those people rarely agree on which style should win, though.
Cheers!
I think sitepoint is the best resource for learning best practices in web development. They have great articles, good references, and probably one of the best forums. However the people there can be a bit grumpy. ;)
If you are a real nerd, reading the specs for HTML 5 and CSS is also a good way to learn.
I'm with Ian on this one. Reading books is all well and good, but nothing beats getting stuck in. I actually started with a Dummies Guide to ASP (that'd be "classic" ASP), back in 1999.
If I was going to start from scratch today I'd be looking at something that covered a full stack solution, whether Apache/PHP/MySQL, RoR or whatever.
ATM I have no experience of Rails, but it might be a pretty good place to start as it includes a lot of stuff that you'd have to figure out early on otherwise (integration with a Scriptaculous, a JS framework) - you can always learn what going on under the hood at a later date.
.NET is always an option, and if you're comfortable with Visual Studio it may be the way to go, but it's not the easiest thing to pick up otherwise.
If you know a bit of HTML but are basically new to server-side programming you might look at ColdFusion. It's actually extremely powerful and like Rails includes lots of "out of the box" benefits. There's a Swiss company called Railo who are currently in the process of releasing an Open Source ColdFusion engine that is affiliated with JBoss.
Last and not least - don't forget databases! Sooner or later you'll need to get to grips with some pretty serious SQL...
CFML (aka "ColdFusion" even though that's really an Adobe product, not the language) is definitely easy to learn, and if you want FOSS for CFML, in addition to Railo you can use Open BlueDragon which is a GPL CFML engine.
Designing with Web Standards is a great first read!
http://www.zeldman.com/dwws/
I would recommend this book:
http://www.amazon.com/MCTS-Self-Paced-Training-Exam-70-528/dp/0735623341/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1218830714&sr=8-1
I have just read it to take the exam, and although I knew the web theory part, I found it to be of great value.
This of course is a ASP.NET specific book, but that is what I would recommend learning anyways.
After you learn all the ASP.NET stuff, I would suggest reading up on JQuery.
Happy coding :)