Freelancing in website development

Hey, guys. I'm a programmer who uses mostly c++. However, I have done a study of the web design programs such as PhP and Javascript. Even dabbled in SQL. Not an expert in it, but I get the concepts and will mainly just need to review it until I have the common stuff in my head. I looked over several freelancing sites. I'm a bit overwhelmed, of course, of what they ask. Though talking with a friend, he says it's not as hard as it looks. A lot of people ask for plugins, web designs, and adding ecommerces.

As a programmer, how hard is any of this stuff is and how does the freelance process usually work?

Never knew it was under those terms, actually. That's why I came here.