Need some help with building a lyrics site

[$ideline]

I want to make a lyrics site but to put it simply I don't want it to look ugly! I have searched for many different lyrics sites and so many of them are coded in just plain html or some uss css briefly yet still use tables in html... why??

I could write my entire site in html, it might be ready in a year! I decided I would learn some php and mySql and I am just needing some help as this is my first time using them.

I will be using html and css to make my site look visually pleasant but I am wondering about the integration of the database. I understand how to create it and update it etc but what I am mostly concerned about is how it will look on my site.

Do I just create my site and the layout in html and css and then just the text from the database will be displayed however I decide in my css files?

Any help or links to helpful tutorials with examples would be appreciated.

Thanks,
$ideline

[PeterMan]

For layouts try theses sites:

http://www.freewebsitetemplates.com/
http://www.solucija.com/home/css-templates/

For php/mysql help try these:

http://www.freewebmasterhelp.com/tutorials/phpmysql
http://www.php-mysql-tutorial.com/

Choose a layout and then customize it a bit by substituting the images, change the font colours, etc...

You will have to build a database, follow along the tutorials to do that, you will need a table to hold the lyrics, artist name, and other information...

You will use php to display the records on the pages. You will need to write some sql queries to get the results and loops to display them...

Set it up on your server and test the crap out of it... php is pretty easy to pick up for basic stuff like this, try a bunch of things and have fun...

Good luck!

[$ideline]

Awesome!! Thank you for all the helpful links. Quick question, I am going to be using a Hosting company that supports php and mysql and it has something called phpMyAdmin along with a couple other tools.

I read that I can download an Apache server. I like to test my sites A LOT before uploading to my actual domain so would this be the way to do it or should I just sign up for my hosting account and use the tools they have online so I can work on my database online (from work in particular...)

Thanks,
-$ideline

[PeterMan]

You can download php and apache for free and set them up on your pc at home and run the site locally, that way you can test it and get it working before using a live server... just search around for tutorials and you will find a ton...

[$ideline]

Thanks for your help elivate, btw I like your site design, simple, easy to use and not plastered in too many ads. Somewhat similar to what I am looking to do.