My absolute favorite web site in terms of design and usability is the "Regent College website They used a product called Macromedia Fireworks MX to design it. Gospelcom.net is an excellent source for all sorts of very well designed web sites.
However, you can make a "decent" web site using nothing more that Microsoft Word. My own news & directory web site was made entirely in MS Word: THEODICY (Pronounced "thee-ODD-issy") I don't use any pictures or graphics on this site, but I could easily add some if I need to. The HTML it generates can be ugly, but it WORKS.
There really is no reason to go out and purchase a specialized package like Macromedia Studio MX as long as you have Word. Anyway, there is a long & tall learning curve to Studio MX, and is only worth it's purchase price if you plan to design web sites for a living. However, Dreamweaver MX 2004 might be worth while. It too has a steep learning curve, but there's a lot you can do with it right out of the box. Plus, it has some very nice "already made" templates that you just add content too.
For an example of a site I designed using Studio MX, visit my site Alyosha Design. Most of what you see at this site could be duplicated using only MS Word and inexpensive photo editing software, but I find the Macromedia Studio product to be more flexible for my needs.
I'm just a designer; I'm not very good with the backend of website design. But there's lot's of very knowledable people here at Free Republic who can help you with particular questions.
If you buy Studio MX at Amazon.com, it will cost you $950 to $1,000.00.
But if you get it from JourneyEd.com you can get basically the exact same package for a mere $199.00. The only thing you have to do is send them proof that you are a current student at OSU. Usally that means just sending them a JPEG of your student ID.
Studio MX is industrial strength web page design, but it works, and works extremely well. It includes Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks & Freehand. The two I use most often are Fireworks and Dreamweaver.
You can get just Dreamweaver from JourneyEd for $99.00, but you'd might as well just get the whole studio for $199.00. Fireworks will definately come in handy for photo-editing and manipulation.
But if you'd rather stick to FrontPage, they have the latest version (2003) for $90. Not that great of a deal, but still it saves you money. Personally, I'd rather use MS Word over Frontpage. But Dreamweaver is preferable to both.
Also, as already recommended, make SURE you view you web site on various web browsers and platforms. I've always been amazed at how different one of my creations can look on a Mac as opposed to a PC. There's lot's of things that Microsoft and PC's will let you get away with that will not work AT ALL on a Mac.