Developing sites as freelancer: Choosing CMS/Framewoks, design etc
I want to develop websites as a freelancer, so I'd like to use something that will make me write less code and fast. I don't really want to re-invent the wheel.

I have some knowledge on HTML, CSS, Javascript (jQuery), SQL, C# and PHP but I need to study a lot more.

I've been using ASP.NET MVC for 5-6 months now for a project so I know C# a lot more than PHP. But still, 6 months isn't really a big deal and I didn't actually choose this.. I like the idea of PHP a lot more than Microsoft's technologies.

So, I have some questions:

1) I think PHP is used in a variety of CMS / Frameworks / technologies in general regarding web development, more than C#. If this is correct, is it better to study PHP and "forget" about C# and ASP.NET MVC?

2) Depending on the project you have to code, what technologies do you use? a) For static sites, b) dynamic sites, c) eshops? d) really custom websites.
Do you use frameworks like Yii, Symfony? CMS like Joomla, Drupal or Wordpress? Or do you write raw PHP (!) ? 
Do you use Joomla for the base of your website and then write Joomla modules to extend it?

3) I don't have any knowledge on design, photoshop etc. How am I supposed to make any site look better? How do you do that? Are you also learning photoshop, or do you hire graphic designers? Do you pay for ready CSS or Joomla templates?

4) Are Microsoft's Umbraco/nopCommerce a better solution than those written on PHP? (in terms of performance, time you spend on writing code, documentation and community).


Thank you for your time, I hope I'm not off-topic.
Developing sites as freelancer: Choosing CMS/Framewoks, design etc
===

I want to develop websites as a freelancer, so I'd like to use something that will make me write less code and fast. I don't really want to re-invent the wheel.

I have some knowledge on HTML, CSS, Javascript (jQuery), SQL, C# and PHP but I need to study a lot more.

I've been using ASP.NET MVC for 5-6 months now for a project so I know C# a lot more than PHP. But still, 6 months isn't really a big deal and I didn't actually choose this.. I like the idea of PHP a lot more than Microsoft's technologies.

So, I have some questions:

1) I think PHP is used in a variety of CMS / Frameworks / technologies in general regarding web development, more than C#. If this is correct, is it better to study PHP and "forget" about C# and ASP.NET MVC?

2) Depending on the project you have to code, what technologies do you use? a) For static sites, b) dynamic sites, c) eshops? d) really custom websites.
Do you use frameworks like Yii, Symfony? CMS like Joomla, Drupal or Wordpress? Or do you write raw PHP (!) ? 
Do you use Joomla for the base of your website and then write Joomla modules to extend it?

3) I don't have any knowledge on design, photoshop etc. How am I supposed to make any site look better? How do you do that? Are you also learning photoshop, or do you hire graphic designers? Do you pay for ready CSS or Joomla templates?

4) Are Microsoft's Umbraco/nopCommerce a better solution than those written on PHP? (in terms of performance, time you spend on writing code, documentation and community).


Thank you for your time, I hope I'm not off-topic.