Some Questions about Development Platforms and Tools

[BobH]

About 10 years ago, I created and hosted a web site using nothing more than a specialized text editor (like Notepad++ but of a different name I don't recall) and a web-hosting contract with GoDaddy. One problem I encountered and never resolved was how to accept input and update a database. I did not install apache or MySQL. Alas, all of that work has been lost. I couldn't even find the site on the wayback machine.

I am planning another web site. This time I want to resolve the issue of being able to take and use data from users. I also want to use a less demanding authoring tool. From a somewhat brief survey of today's development tools, I have become nothing more than confused. I need help.

Wordpress seems to be the dominant authoring tool, today. Certainly this seems to be true for those who do not make a living from web development for others or for their employers. It seems, too, that some of those pros also use Wordpress.

If I focus on Wordpress, it seems to be a powerful tool but one with a fairly steep learning curve. My first obstacle has been in choosing tools that will allow me to develop and test without having to use my web hosting service. Searching online and watching YouTube videos has confused me further. I am not particularly enamored of Wordpress and will welcome other paths to pursue.

Can anyone here help me cut through this maze? Pointers to reasonable articles and videos would be most appreciated. By 'reasonable' I mean ones that don't presume multi-decade experience with UNIX or other highly technical knowledge.

TIA

[stuck]

Any help here:
    https://www.wpbeginner.com/showcase/wor ... wordpress/

NB Browse the rest of that site as well.

Ken

[JoeP]

Do you know any of the web languages - Python, JavaScript, ASP.Net? Are you interested in primarily using templates?

It is probably overkill for what you want but Visual Studio Community is full-featured and FREE. There are a ton of extensions available. There is a whole lot of documentation and courses available too.

[BobH]

@Ken - Yes, I've looked there and even joined a forum that promises to be of some use, but it's early days yet.

@JoeP - I have a nodding acquaintance with JavaScript but no experience at all with ASP.Net or Python. I will look into Visual Community.

I really wouldn't mind relying on HTML as the primary tool except for not knowing how to integrate what I code there with apache and MySQL.

Thanks for the guidance.

[JoeP]

Two results from How to use MySQL in a Visual Studio web site - MySQL Visual Studio install and MySQL Visual Studio making a connection.

You can probably find something similar for Apache