How can I make a website like facebook for free?

How would you make a website like Wiki or Facebook?

• If someone wanted to create a website similar to either Wikipedia or Facebook, how would they go about doing so? Wiki in the sense that, users have complete control over the content, and can create pages etc. Facebook in the sense that users can cusomize their profile, and chat etc. I know this is a complex question probably. Would you use FrontPage? How about Dreamweaver? Would you have to just use bare coding essentials, or what? Also, what language? .net? Java? Visual Studio? Please help me! Also, how long would it take to make such a website, like, lets say Wikipedia? Please don't say it's too complicated or something, because the person who made Facebook was around 17 when he started. Just suppose that I have no life, and can spend 24 hours a day learning what ever it is that's needed... So.. does anyone know exactly what it is that's needed? Thank you!

• Answer:

  Things you will need to learn: 1. HTML - The basis of all web programming is HTML. This is how your data will be sent to your website's users. 2. Dynamic programming - HTML itself cannot generate new content. It is merely how the content will be transfered to the users. You will need to learn a dynamic web programming language. You have several options including JSP, ASP, PHP, etc. 3. SQL - SQL is the standard language for accessing databases. You will need to store user data for the project you described. This will require SQL. Tools you can use Notepad/VIM - if you're really hardcore, you can create all the code from scratch using a simple text editor. I recommend that you actually start learning to program using a text editor like this. This will help you learn the underlying concepts, which will help you make a better, more robust website. Dreamweaver, FrontPage, other such tools - Eventually, if you're working on a large project, you will want to start using tools to help you work faster and more easily. Here you have the choice of a What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) or text-based editor. WYSIWIGs allow you to visually generate the web page while the tool creates code for you in the background. This can be less work, but it tends to produce sloppier code. Make sure if you use such a tool, you use one dedicated to web programming. MS word and Photoshop can generate HTML code, but it is an unreadable mess. Hardware you will need: A server - You will need to put your site on the internet for people to access. Initially, you can probably use a cheap, simple hosting service such as godaddy to host your site. Eventually, you will need to upgrade. Hopefully, by the time you reach that point, you will know how to find/build a decent server. Time it will take: It all depends on how quickly you can learn and what resources you can build off of. It will definitely take a long time. If you work 8+ hours a day, you may be able to get something posted within a few months, but it's all up to you. Good luck.