Ask HN: Non-technical person seeking help learning how to make weekend project

[jmjerlecki]

Please don't mistake this for the "looking for a developer to work for equity (i.e. free) to help me build the next billion dollar idea." This isn't what I am asking.

I saw great advice on a post on here that essentially said if a non technical person just asked for help and showed a desire to learn how to develop their idea, that individual would be happy to help. I am taking their advice.

Any help pointing me in the right direction would be much appreciated. If you would actually like to help me and be a part of the project, please feel free to reach out.

What I know: I can do graphic design. This will not be an issue for me. I know basic HTML and CSS and can build a static website.

What I would like to learn: I am trying to make a website that is similar to Textsfromlastnight.com. I have an idea that would function similar in concept and is a twist on the idea. How would I go about creating this type of website? What languages (PHP, java) would I need to learn or is there anything open source I could try and learn and modify for my needs. I am interested at being a better web programmer and I think this would be a great weekend project of sorts for me to try my hand at. If the site doesn't ever take off, I will be happy I expanded my knowledge.

I have enjoyed being a part of this community and thanks in advance for anyone who helps or posts!

[draz]

I think you should go for a Ruby on Rails / Groovy on Rails / whatever framework. My reasoning? They encapsulate a lot of the configuration files that you don't want to deal with (ugh, Spring is just annoying, with all those XML files... and I'm a Java person!). Moreover, because they're so ubiquitous, you'll find loads of plugins/code samples online for things you're looking to do. It will really cut down on your development time.

[iamsidd2k7 → draz]

I agree with Darz, Ruby on Rails is good for getting thing upto speed. If you know you can work your way, by simple tutorials. I don't know if you are using MAC/PC but http://edgeguides.rubyonrails.org/getting_started.html this is a good way to learn how to make website. Also my suggestion would be to learn git, this would help you in long run.

[jmjerlecki → iamsidd2k7]

Hey thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I am pretty positive I can learn from the tutorials. They seemed pretty geared towards beginners to which is great. And learning Git would allow me to be active on github?

[iamsidd2k7 → jmjerlecki]

Yup thats right, plus it will paying off when you need to figure out what changes you made say a week ago. Github is a hosting site for git code repo. Email me on gmail id: iamsidd if you need more help or specific clarification.

[beatpanda]

You can build a textfromlastnight clone using WordPress, and WordPress has an incredibly low barrier to entry. Start there, then move on to something more complicated, like Ruby on Rails or Django.

[jmjerlecki]

Clicakble: http://textsfromlastnight.com/

[EricR23]

Drupal sounds like a great fit for what you're looking for.

[tritogeneia → EricR23]

Seconded.