It might not be designed with the beginner in mind, but I can easily say that Rails has been my entry to web programming and Rails has been very helpful in that regard. Have I understood all the concepts in the first place? Probably not. Did I need to? Not really.

I am a big fan of learning by doing and Rails gives the beginner a very quick, gratifying experience, and I believe that is one of the reasons why Rails is so popular among beginners