Help a newbie out on a webpage
 

Hey. I was considering making a webpage for a business Idea I had. It would pretty much be like those sites that you can rate different apt complexes in cities except you rate something different. So people would need to be able to post reviews about different establishments in cities. How hard would it be for me to do this? Also I would pretty much need a listing of every autoshop in all of americas cities and I was wondering what it would take to get this going? I understand basic programming but nothing supserserious. I just know some visual basic. ALso what does it take to make the users create accounts. Thanks!

If you know visual basic, then it's going to be difficult to make a web application. You'd need to learn PHP, or Perl, or Python, or Rails, and then design the application, then program it, test, tweak, etc.

As for getting members. That's something everyone struggles with, and I don't believe there's a magic formula for success.

Based on what I want to do would it take that long? Also you told me all those languages I need to know. BUt dont I just use html? Do i need an outside program besides dreamweaver to use those languages?
I plan on getting traffic through google search optimization since there are not sites like this on the searches.

What would it cost to pay someone to do this for me after I made the general design and logos?

Use PHP and MySQL ... you could probably hash something out in a few hours.

i agree, php, mysql (or postgresql) is the way to go for a web app. Moved thread to web design forum.

"BUt dont I just use html? Do i need an outside program besides dreamweaver to use those languages?"

yes, in order to run php (see www.php.net for more info) you'll need to have ether a host that has support for php, or setup your own web server using apache, a free (read: free as in beer) webpage serving software (see www.apache.org for more info). Mysql or Postgresql are both database softwares that php has API's for. Using the combo of php and a db software like mysql or postgresql you can create a dynamic webpage (meaning your content on the site can be generated by you or the users). with just plan jane html, you won't get this functionality.

HTML is simply a markup language. You use it in conjunction with the material you want to present. This tells the browser (on the client's machine) how to do it. When someone hits your site, the server responds with the appropriate page, then disconnects. Your client can look at the page all he/she wants, but is not in contact with your site any longer. If your client wants to see another page (perhaps represented by a link), the browser makes the request, the server responds, then disconnects. There is no remembered state inherent in the process.

If you want to respond actively to the client, then you need code (perhaps PHP, as has been suggested) running on the server. This code is invoked when the page is requested. The code determines what the client wants to do (from among the things you have said he could do, such as log in or ask for specific information from the scads that you have) and performs the actions required to do that, formats the results, and responds to the client with that special page.

If you want to "remain in touch" with a particular client, than you have to overtly introduce a state-retaining mechanism, such as "sessions."

Judging by your questions (no derogation intended), you would probably do well to hire someone. The cost is not something we can tell you. You can get it done by a kiddie hacker for next to nothing or you can pay a professional a reasonable amount. You will get what you pay for, with the usual variations that occur due to competency level, hunger, search for experience, and so forth.

Well..as far as coding the program you designed, probably more than you want to pay. I have a friend who does freelance web programming and she charges like $2500 for a small sized website. If its just something you want to play around with, you should just learn the code (php, mysql, perl, whatever else)--its a good learning experience. If you want to get serious about it and try to make some money off this website, then go ahead and invest some money for a pro to handle it.

Is there a way I can view and steal the php code from other sites?