depends on what type of site you are trying to make and what you already know about website making already.
If i am making a graphic heavy site then I usually use photoshop the lay out then splice it up in there.
Then I use notepad to code it all together. Or MS frontpage if I havent got much time to spend.
If you are after a site with a bit more oomf such as forums and membership news letters etc then take a look at exboxx.com they have an asp based site and their hosting is quite good too.
They are developing a .net version there too but dont hold your breath.
but what to use all depends on the type of site you are after. but for a 5 page wonder I would use front page or wordpad.
for a more involved site I would use wordpad and photoshop.