web sites?

Try:

Learn to write proper HTML and all you need is a text editor.

MBQ

Depends what you want - if this is just a hobby site, somewhere to write about your family/projects/holidays etc, just get yourself a google pages account:

I use NAMO Webeditor - version 5 is fine for simple websites although I have upgraded to version 2006-suite now. About £70 and very good. Book good, technical help reported not but I have never needed it. Available with review from Amazon:

If you google for web page/HTML tutorials and learn some simple basics You can then use this free program

dont use dreamweaver its much too powerful nor frontpage which uses HTML for InternetExplorer only,

is good and free and opensource.

If you spend time learning how to use it then whatever computer you're on, mac pc or ubuntu you can download NVU and get webbing..

design your website on paper with coloured pens..

i try to spend longer on the images than the text

(I use wordpad but thats cos i spent years learning HTML, dont bother)

Context is quite nice: It understands HTML.

I prefer HTML-kit

Where are you going to host the site ? - many servers offer front-end applications often known as CMS - content management systems - but require the server to have a database or two available for managing the content. Many hosts offer a variety of CMS systems free as part of their normal hosting packages.

These let you add content without having to worry about the logistics of knowing how the website does it all in the background.

Try looking into PHPnuke and Joomla amongst others... One little proviso i'd add is that some may be susceptible to what is known as SQL injection, where a site may be subverted / taken over by a specially crafted URL sent by a hacker. If you use a CMS, consider checking the directory structure on the web server end on a regular basis to make sure the site isn't being used to host phishing attacks.