Web Design: Goals and Concerns

I have many more concerns about designing anything for the internet than I have clear goals. I think much of that is due to my lack of understanding about how to create the things I would like to come up with. I have spoken with my husband about this and he has tried to shed a little direction by saying that nearly anything is possible in a website and you shouldn't limit yourself by worrying about what can or cannot be done from a graphic design aspect. I have found various other blogs and articles explaining a similar argument. Not that you shouldn't consider things like time, cost, and relativity, but don't limit yourself to early during the idea phase. I think I can learn a lot by studying other sites and designer/publisher products. Their works could be what I need to be inspired and ready to figure out what I need to do in order to stand out from the crowd and be accomplished at my own designs. I don't believe that I intend to become a professional web designer, but I would like to have this skill in my arsenal later after beginning a career in photography. I think that anyone planning on a career in the near future needs to be internet savvy and have the ability to put themselves out into the social networking culture in order to be successful.