PHP is really easy to learn. As it's free the documentation is online at PHP.net. Though it's easier to learn if you know some other programming so that you know what you are looking for in the ducumentation. Otherwise there are free scripts and examples, all you have to do is type into Google something like 'image resize php' and it will come up with exactly what you need. It's also a great language to learn as it's similar to a lot of other languages...

Web 2.0 isn't anything new as such. It's just a new way of designing a website. Simply put Web 2.0 is a way to describe the use of techniques like AJAX, Javascript and dynamic HTML to make a website more user friendly by allowing it to work more like a desktop application. The best examples I can think of for Web 2.0 Apps are things like Google Maps, Windows Live Mail and Facebook.

To get your site to validate as XHTML and CSS you just need to use the languages and mark up neatly and as intended. If you use the W3C validator to validate your HTML then you will soon learn what needs to be do to create a valid website...

For what you need why don't you consider using a Wordpress blog (http://wordpress.org). You then just need to work out how to make your own skin for it. You can do that by modifying a current skin with some success. There is even a Dummies book for Wordpress. It seems quite popular for what you are tyring to do...

iv written a lot of extra stuff for vagweb from scratch.

Is that from VAGweb steve? Did it come with all the sources etc?

As i'm guessing for my personal site i'd like some sort of news thing so i can log in and post news and it appears instead of reuploading HTML every time. Also if i was to do something for someone and needed a log in and an admin bit i'd need to learn that too.

I'm guessing theres all the source codes for that online anyway, i'd just have to learn how to implement it with my website and edit it if needed etc.

i learnt it and i didnt use any literature

just from creating my own site and messing about when i wanted to find something out just looked it up on google

Following on from my thread below, i'll be remaking my portfolio site and I want to learn PHP incase I get asked to make a simple site for someone and they want some PHP simple items etc.

My question is, how easy is it to learn PHP? Is the best way for me to get like Dummies books on it etc (I get 50% off them from my work as we own Dummies publishing) or is there sufficient stuff on the net to learn from?

Also its been ages since i done any CSS etc, whats all this Web 2.0 and validating stuff i see on peoples sites constantly now, XHTML and CSS, again how easy is that to pick up?

I have knowledge of HTML and CSS but haven't used any of it for a couple of years really!