How to build a website?

[mlmpetert]

I apologize if this is already a thread but I searched and couldn’t really find anything so please merge if need be.

I want to make a website. Besides a couple geocities sites back in high school and linking sellourteamdannyboy.com to the donation site I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing. Here is what I want to do:

Make a website with a specific domain name (ie www.thewarpath.net NOT www.geocities/fanpages/thewarpath.com)
Easy – I want to use templates, but I would like to use 3rd party templates as well if I wanted to
Moveability – If I wanted to change hosts or servers I would like to be able to do so easy
Cheap – I doubt Ill draw much traffic but I would like to be able to expand if need be. Whats a reasonable costs?
Ability to have a mobile site for smart phones
Personal – I doubt ill draw much traffic or need lots of space, but I want to be able to upgrade if wanted to. Or if I ever did have a business website I would like to have all my stuff at one place
Im not selling anything – but I would like to know how and be able to put ads on if I wanted to


When I search and try and get peoples reviews of sites and what they offer I am primarily finding ads. I hate committing to stuff so I don’t want to get started with a hosting site and then find out I got one that sucks or doesn’t work for me. So I guess I am looking for you guys to tell me whats the best hassle free hosting site you’ve had experience with or which ones to avoid. I want to keep it easy, but I don’t want to cheat myself out of learning something new. Most of the reason I am doing this is to learn something new and know how.

I guess to sum up my needs I want something that has cookie cutter stuff that’s easy to start out with, but I want to be able to expand to legit warpath like status if need be. That said I don’t want to start a forum or anything, but I love sites that are user interactive and allow people to leave comments or take polls or get notifications. Any recommendations or advice?