Before I got to this, I was wondering if anyone was going to mention PHP. I'm at the exact same stage as the OP and I'm just going with PHP (and learning MySQL

Before I got to this, I was wondering if anyone was going to mention PHP. I'm at the exact same stage as the OP and I'm just going with PHP (and learning MySQL simultaneously). I do want to play with Python eventually, but my first goal is to actually be able to find a job doing this stuff by the end of the year. Plus, even though every virtual human I run across has been programming RoR since 1963, everyone I know in meatspace uses PHP... and those are the people I'll be bugging for help. Go to your local craigslist web/info design job page and run a search for PHP and count how many ads come up. Then run searches for Python and Ruby. That's enough help for me when it comes to making a decision.