Database driven sites seem to be the way to go. I have sites of my own and clients' that would really benefit from this. I haven't had time to learn Php/MySql, have found no ready made solutions to buy and there are no experienced developers in my area - I've not been impressed with any sites I've seen for Irish web developers (and don't know where to start on the rest of the net).

Any recommendations on good tutorials?

Any recommendations on a source for developers?

Projects in the works: web directory; content management with multiple users; property; portal...

I have a ""how-to"" book, that is about a foot thick, but can't imagine that I'll be able to learn this without spending every day and night for the next three months working on it.

I'm not completely thick. I picked up HTML really quickly - does this seem hard because I've never done any programming before?

You have to ask yourself if the sites really require database.

If they are largely static things, dont bother with using a database. If they are dynamic or updated a lot, then some sort of CMS would be useful. You can check out a load of free CMS systems at http://www.opensourcecms.com/ and see if any already do what you want, or maybe these might give you something to learn from.

If you want to go from scratch, find a decent book or website that discusses database structure to 3rd Normal Form. If you get the database structure right the rest is fairly straight forward. Other than that using PHP is pretty self explanatory and there are simply LOADS of websites out there giving copy-paste idiots guides for how to get started in retrieving data from the database and getting it on your page.

I recommend having a look at the open source cms page though, if only for learning.

Maybe I'm confused, but if your goal is to build a Web directory, CMS, or any other substantial PHP app, plan on spending a lot more than three months on it. I only say this because when you set your goals unrealistically you will get frustrated! Believe me, I'm working on my third CMS.

HTML is a markup language. PHP is a reflective programming language. Many differences here. You should spend at least three months getting to know the basics of PHP. I've been using PHP for 5+ years now and I still learn something every day. And this with a previous programming background in C and Perl.

That said I would start with a basic project and use Google and your reference books to work through it. For example, connect to a database, INSERT a record, SELECT that record, then display it. It would probably be very helpful to read up on basic programming concepts as well; you should be familiar with conditionals, control structures, variables, constants, operators, functions, and basic PHP syntax.

There are a multitide of sites out there with PHP lessons. I remember using phpbuilder.net quite a bit. php.net and Google are your best friends though, never forget that! The PHP documentation should never be neglected.

Regarding developers, well there are a plethora or forums with eager developers looking to make money, as well as scriptlance.com and others. When you do hire, start out small and build up a relationship with your coders.

Not sure if this addresses your questions exactly, but I'm happy to help out in any other manner possible.

Good luck!

Gabe

Learning to use dreamwear is a quicker way to go... it does all the programming for you so you can learn as you go. I have an o'reilly ebook that I used to learn it in 2 weeks if you want it shoot me a PM