Help an extreme beginner.

As tools:joomla, drupal and other softwares like that one can help as they make the programming easier.

Apart of that you could start with something like dreamweaver (really easy to get static results) and it is something like a WYSIWYG editor.

but even more important than the tools itself is the design:
Think about the need for a database, if you need that, think about the design, which platform will you use, the money you have to spend on licenses and in the domain...

Ask for best practices, look at other web site's code: know about CSS, remove script languages whenever it is possible to be able to reach a major audience, think on the contents to get a better SEO and results, small pictures to get faster response times, check the site in benchmark tools...

Of course this is not a specific answer but given the question the answer will never be specific... think about all those things and if you need help in clarifying any aspect post here again.

good luck! :rose:

Well, building websites on your own involves a learning curve. if you are ready for the that then you can pick some technology and start learning. On the other hand if you are clear about the idea then you can explore some content management system that could give you a quick start in setting up the website. Try evaluating CMS based on your requirements.

I suggest you try playing around with Joomla and dotnetnuke. I really like these two CMS as they are really useful for beginners. I bet you can make a full fledged portal in 30 minutes using Joomla. see if they or any other cms serve your needs. if not you can learn and build your own(but that will take time). Perhaps you can use CMS and build on top of it if you find something missing.