What languages do I need to know to make an e-commerce web site?

Good practice for making dynamic web pages is to use PHP. It's a server side language so you will need to be hosted to practice the code. If I were you, I wouldn't take on the challenge to completely develop your own e comm platform. I would start with a base, and there are many. My best advice would be to download the source files from Magento: http://www.magentocommerce.com/download

You can use their community addition for free. If you have your own server, you can create a database and install Magento directly to it. The possibilities with this platform are fairly scalable and customizable. Once you have everything installed properly, you will control all the properties of your site through the content management system. If you want to dramatically customize the front end design, you will need to have a good HTML / CSS / Javascript knowledge.

Here some other good e commerce platforms that you can work from:

- http://www.opencart.com/

- http://getshopped.org/

- http://www.hybris.com/

- http://www.zen-cart.com/

hope this helps

If you are not planning on writing the cart, which I would not advise you not to, then HTML, PHP CSS and a MySql database would take care of it. You could also use some javascript. I have developed several different e-commerce sites, once you understand the fundamentals of adding the products to the shopping cart, the process is rather easy. (providing you know a little HTML... My first e-commerce sites years ago were strictly HTML.)

Writing a CMS for the back-end is a little more difficult, but again once you setup the database(s), adding editing and deleting the products is not that hard.

I designed all my sites in notepad+, so really no other software other than the cart is needed.

If you are planning on designing the cart, there are a lot of things that you might never think of that you have to keep in mind when starting.... pci compliance when storing credit cards, security issues of personal information, SSL folders, interfacing with credit card processors, protecting your server from hackers, etc. It was too much work for me, so I just used and existing cart designed by a third party designer.

If you have any other questions, just let me know.

Best wishes.

So if you know NOTHING about web pages then LEARN:

HTML-Its a must and is required for any single page out there(everything uses it)

CSS- To make it look pretty(must)

Javascript- So this is what you use for mostly for events, ei..i click this button, and it updates my profile

-you should use javascript, but thats a big should

also, learn javascript library jquery, its A LOT EASIER

PHP/MYSQL- for an e-commerce web site, youll definetly need them, for storing and retrieving from database

AJAX- can do stuff without reloading the page..so its cool/fast...

TIMEFRAME- if your serious about learning yourself and have knowledge of programming, it wont take years to learn...really if you spent like 30 minutes a day, for 1 year...you should be good...

learn the things in that order...for html and css, websites i suggest are

thenewboston.org and w3 schools

for javascript i suggest these: w3schools thenewboston and tizag

for php: phpacademy.org

for ajax...umm a lot of stuff...all of the sites listed above

HTML, CSS, Javascript, jQuery, AJAX, PHP, MySQL