Affliate Program & Implementing XML

[gac811]

I'm a newbie to web development and am learning on the fly. I'm extremely interested in starting websites that stand alone and/or using current affliate programs to help generate some cash flow. I have come across a program that I can use XML to tap into the company's vast database to build my own online business.

My question is, and I really appreciate anyone taking the time to answer this post, am I getting in over my head by trying to use XML on my first site? My knowledge right now is limited and will need to hire a company to help build this internet business for me. As of now, I know a little HTML, XHTML and CSS. I can build a pretty basic site.

For such a newbie, should I be afraid of XML and hiring a company to implement the code for me? I am very new to this and have found this forum to be a treasure chest of knowledge. I guess I am looking for someone to say, "No problem, once the code is implemented it wont be too difficult to update" or "What the heck are you thinking? You're going to be in way over your head".

Any insight is much appreciated. This is my first post here so I hope I'm not being to vague. It seems most people keep a low profile about what business they are in so I am just following protocol. If anyone needs more info to help answer the question, please go ahead and ask. Thanks.

[webdoctor]

If you are powering your website using XML data, where is the data coming from?

If this XML data is also shared with others, how is your site going to have any unique content?

If you build a site which shows other people's products, aren't all your pages going to be duplicates?

[gac811]

I guess the theory is CVS, SavOn and Walgreens all sell the same thing just under different brand names. So while I will be generating my own content, most of what is sold is available through other vendors as well. I can build the site just HTML, but according to the affliate vendor using XML along with HTML will be a far better way for me to go. I'm just not sure if it will cost too much to hire a company to do this or not. More importantly, does XML need to be updated all the time once the code is written?