PHP is a good start to take a stab at web dev. The fact that many web hosts support it also means that hosting is cheaper for you go out and try something. Sin

PHP is a good start to take a stab at web dev. The fact that many web hosts support it also means that hosting is cheaper for you go out and try something. Since you are starting out I would suggest you to write a couple of small webapps before you go for the one you are into. I do this for every new language I learn and it's helped me a lot. Just reading thru a tutorial totally different from doing it and getting first-hand experience, especially if you are going to work with Python and Ruby for webapps. I had a odd but great experience when I first learnt PHP, that was around 4yrs ago. Every time I did something, I found there was a better way to do it and the PHP documentation on the website is great (and the comments for every page on the docs) And also learn Object Oriented stuff in PHP. Learn to use classes and objects. This opens up a whoile new shelf of resources for you. Coz then you can start using classes that others have created for specific tasks. phpclasses.org has a pretty huge database of classes. Also as you go, just get started with using an MVC. Use CakePHP (I use it and its good) or CodeIgniter or Kohana (as many here suggest often). I suggested PHP coz it also saves you the pain of learning how to deploy your app. For PHP it's pretty straight forward, just upload the files and it works. Good for starters. P.S: Don't listen to me. Just do it your own way. Coz that's what you'll do anyway. It's never possible to follow suggestions/rules, like a sworn monk. And that's how you'll enjoy learning :P