Negeltu, I agree to a degree. I do agree that a kickin' site can be a bear to design and build (just look at how many redesigns this one has gone through...I think we're on V4), but on the other hand the majority of people that want a basic site can get away with WYSIWYG editors and playing with it in their spare time. Most people don't need fancy, but I agree that the fancier the site, the more visitors and more sales are made. We humans like the packaging almost as much as the product usually.
Philip, to answer your question, sure I'll still lend a hand. Rev would be a good one to ask too as it wasn't too long ago that he embarked on the same journey and can help with some pointers on how he started his. My recommendation then was:
1) find out if your ISP (internet service provider) gives you any amount of webspace with your account - if they do, use it first, it's free.
2) where ever you host with, they more than likely have a web builder app with basic templates, these will do what you're looking to do just fine.
3) worst case scenario, check out free hosting with places like freewebspace.com...to start out they are free, but there is a small ad at the top of your pages.
Once you get the answers to those questions, we can get into the nitty gritty like domain names and such.