Help building my own website...a non companion website

Hi friends,
I have been considering building a website.I currently have my website professionally done for myself in this hobby.I have been contemplating building a new business as a personal assistant/screener.
Let me be frank to say that my knowledge of web design is quite limited, but I hope to be a fast learner. That being said, I hope to find something that is beginner friendly yet professional looking.
I appreciate any feedback and suggestions.

Times of transitions.

NetObjects Fusion has a version that is free and can get you going quite quickly. The paid version has many more features. The absolute best software out there is Adobe Dreamweaver

If you are looking to be a real PA/Office Manager etc. (adult-oriented or otherwise) for a small business or entretreneur I'll suggest that the requisite skill set now often includes things like being able to make routine changes to an existing site (e.g. the "webmaster"), if not basic site creation (although often that is outsourced), so I think developing this competency in the process is a great idea.

You may want to try this one

http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/webhosting

The only problem is you have to use them as your host, but the software is very simple, and easy to use. It's a good place to start , and if you decide to learn Dreamweaver later on it is compatable so you will not need to change hosts.

This is what I used to build my site, and one for my friend and it is easy to make changes as often as you like.I did not use any of their templates, but for the use you have in mind that might be a good way to go.

Does anyone know if Dreamweaver is a decent choice for beginners, or is it smart to take a class on it first?

I use dreamweaver and although it basically does the html for you, I don't think that it is for beginners as you still need to have knowledge/understanding of Html and CSS. But you can learn a lot about both online.

I use dreamweaver and although it basically does the html for you, I don't think that it is for beginners as you still need to have knowledge/understanding of Html and CSS. But you can learn a lot about both online. Originally Posted by arianne

Beautiful site,you did a great job.

Thank you :-)

I really like Microsoft's Expression Web.

I also would not recommend Dreamweaver for someone just getting started in web page construction/design. It's best to learn some basics first . . .

Very nice site, Arianne . . .

Hi friends,
I have been considering building a website.I currently have my website professionally done for myself in this hobby.I have been contemplating building a new business as a personal assistant/screener.
Let me be frank to say that my knowledge of web design is quite limited, but I hope to be a fast learner. That being said, I hope to find something that is beginner friendly yet professional looking.
I appreciate any feedback and suggestions.

Times of transitions. Originally Posted by tylorblake

One of the many hats I wear is website developer. I highly recommend a combination of Photoshop (to design in) and dreamweaver. You won't have to know any HTML, it'll build it all in the background for you. You design visually. Take the time to learn the tutorials from www.lynda.com - they're excellent!! Dreamweaver basics really aren't very complicated and once you get a handle it's quite logical in work flow. I've taught MANY people who knew absolutely nothing.

What you really want to keep in mind when designing the look is to compartmentalize the design: an easy section for logo, for menu items and for content.

When learning about photoshop go out of your way to learn about "Splicing" this will make transferring the visiual design into HTML quite easy.

Realistically, to really know your stuff, expect two weeks to a month of study and practise until you get the basics right. All you really need is the basics for an information based websites.

It's also handy to know basic HTML though that's not necessary. However, you just can't go wrong understanding how it all actually works.

If you ever have questions I'm happy to help.

Another quick and easy way to get started is MonsterTemplates.com. Buy a design you like and you can start changing as much as you please to personalize the whole thing to your liking.

Thank you for the info Lauren.I appreciate the tips especially concerning the use of Photoshop.

I still use Microsoft Front Page. It's pretty simple to me as I am used to it.

However, upon first starting out, I used the services of www.bravenet.com

You can build and manage your site online with their wizard, they have a huge database of tools that are easily integrated into your site (such as a counter, guestbook, forums, calendar, etc), and they have a library of basic information for HTML, Java scripting, and more that is fairly easy to understand for beginners.

Even if you don't build a site with them the information is handy and you can still use the tools they have on whatever site you use.

Thank you guys for the valuable input.You provided some great starting points that I will look into.
I hope everyone had a great 4th. I had a blast until I burnt my hand on the grill.....ughhhh