This is probably very elementary. But, I'm hopelessly confused!

I already know how to build a "regular" web site. But now I want to build a Directory site so that visitors can find just the listed resources (for example: Freelance Writers) that are available in their local area.

[In other words, let's say I have a data base of 500 Freelance Writers located all across the country, but you, as a visitor, only want to know which writers are located near you within whatever number of miles you specify.]

These locally available resources need to be displayed when the visitor's home address and/or zip code is entered into a form.

Are there templates or pre-written CGI scripts for this kind of site? Or, do I need to know how to use some kind of special "language" like Perl, JavaScript, etc.?

Can anybody help me out? Thanks!

Javascript won't do it... you need a server side language like ASP.NET, ASP, PHP, or ColdFusion. Javascript is a client side language.

Then, to make things easy, this should be designed around a database. The database will retain all pertinent data... name, address, phone, zip, description, whatever else you want to be displayed, and then the search is elemetary from there.

If you need anymore help or direction please feel free to email me @ josh@joshandbrandi.com

Ideally you'll want to use something that can write and read from a database and that means the languages that Josh mentioned. You can look for free scripts at www.hotscripts.com or learn to make simple database connections. A great site for learning asp and other web languages is www.w3schools.com. It's simply superb for explanations and keeping lessons in organized, easy to follow chunks. I recommend it to all users who need help just starting out.