Different designers / coders are all going to give you different answers on this one. Why? Because they are going to suggest the method that works right for them. I code in PHP, so Im going to say use PHP. With all due respect the fact that you are asking how would I start shows me that perhaps you could use a little professional assistance, that is hire someone to do it for you. The advantage of hiring a coder is that you still get to be the designer because you tell the coder what they want, but you leave the technical stuff up to them.
That being said if you feel you would like to learn some about web design / coding you can have a look at this tutorial site.
Tizag Tutorials