I find PHP to be a great solution for creating websites.
I have been working for years on the microsoft side of the world, but in the last years I have worked more and more with PHP/MySql projects. The last versions of these platform are quite powerful and it turns out that it is now very easy to build/use webservices in PHP5. OOP is fully supported and, above all, there are plenty of free Editors and IDE.
If you want to start working in PHP, I would strongly recommend you the WAMP server, which offer, for free, APACHE, PHP5 and MySQL server to install on your home PC!
It is very easy to install and in some minutes you are free to write your applications and see them running on your PC. In the same package you will receive a phpmyadmin to administer your databases.
To write PHP code, you have then an incredible number of options… I am using PSPAD, a light editor that let you develop in many languages.
If you are used to work in Eclipse, do not forget to download the PHP environment for Eclipse, I am not using it personally, but a colleague of mine is, and he’s enthusiast 
