I bought my domain name from GoDaddy.com but have my hosting through Vermont Web Host. I love, love, LOVE them!
If I have a problem I get to speak to a real person. They've bent over backward to help me fix an issue that was my fault. Never had down time. Their control panel is really easy to use. I would recommend them to anyone.
I have used Microsoft Frontpage to make site designs.
HOnestly though, right now I mostly use my site to host my blog. I got one through wordpress.org and installed it on my domain. There are tons of templates you can install/tweak to make it look like you want.
Vermont Web Host's control panel has several programs for content that you can just install/update via Fantastico de Lux so that you have the template already. But that really depends on what you are going to do.
If you have some specific questions, feel free to PM me to ask. Not only do I have my own site but my husband is a Sys Admin and is used to me pestering him about all sorts of things.