I'm actually working on a website myself and I just use notepad and handcode the HTML myself. It is time consuming but if you only want a simple site it can be quite effective. I'd let you have a look at mine but its not online yet, still got a way to go and I'm working on it inbetween work etc so it'll take a little while.
HTML doesn't take too long to learn, if you get a book and have read. Then its just a case of trial and error.
There are also a number of useful sites online that can help you with this. For example:
webmonkey
I also use shareware sites to help with buttons and images etc to help my pages look a bit more professional. Here's an example, althgough there are loads of others:-
freebuttons
If you are looking to do something more complicated then I guess you'll need Frontpage or something similar.
I still use freesites (geocities to be precise) but get around the popup adverts by using
ShortURL.com
They are basically a free URL redirection service.
But like I said, any webpage stuff I do is very basic in comparison to the sites a lot of people round here have .
Let us know how you get on, it'd be nice to see it when its up and running.
Good luck
StubbyUK