I started off vb programming back in vb6 days. I now do vb .net and c#. It gave me a good background for programming websites as far as asp.net goes. E-Commerce is a broad topic. There are many languages that can be used to program an E-Commerce site. I wrote mine in ASP.Net using vb. I had to fake a bit of Java (there is no replacement for many of the things that Java can do).

This is my humble opinion…..Learn a bit of VB.Net or C#, html syntax, and a little Java. This is ok for servers running ASP.Net. But it will introduce you to some programming. You will probably want to learn PHP, but I haven’t even gotten around to that.

I have noticed a growing number of sites that are running ASP.Net. Also, the programs that can be used to write the code can be obtained for free from Microsoft at http://www.microsoft.com/express/download/default.aspx

First start your own website. As you may know a domain name is just a name, not a real website. If you are going to create your website: 1- Buy a domain name. To get a domain name, you have to pay an annual fee to a registrar for the right to use that name. 2- Buy a web hosting service to provide your online space and enable you to get your website online at your purchased domain name.
If you want to start your business website I recommend purchase your domain and hosting together. In this way it is possible to get your domain for free. Some hosting services offer this gift today. They also offer “Free Site Builder” that helps you build your web pages without difficulty if you are not skilled in using any website creating program. (WYSIWYG: What You See Is What You Get). Some of these companies also offer hundreds of various customizable templates.
Take a look at: http://threehosts.atspace.com/business There you can reach the three reputable companies that are leaders in the E-commerce web hosting industry.