I want to make a website for my dad (yes I know procrastination at its best!) I am not very computer literate but get around programmes ok after a few hours.

Is it best to buy dreamweaver - I have seen reviews saying it is overly complex? Or a cheaper package - I have found one called 'Mr Site'

Any recommendations/ideas (and no I can't do HTML etc!)

Might be worth taking a look at Nvu - I had a quick go at using it a while back and it seemed pretty straightforward. (And it's free, so at least you're not forking out just to give it a try.)

(I'm assuming an off-the-peg blog format wouldn't do the job?)

ooh, I will give it a go - it needs to look reasonably professional and not rely too much on horrible templates with loads of graphics all over them which is all I have come across so far!

Dreamweaver is a serious piece of advanced software and really not worth buying if you "can't do HTML"!

You could try downloading a ready-made website from http://www.oswd.org and changing it to suit your needs using a free HTML editor like coffeecup (or maybe Nvu? i haven't tried that one).

I'd recommend you go the Wordpress route and find a nice wordpress theme - there are so many I'm sure you'll find one to your tastes. It won't necessarily look like a blog and will allow your dad to edit the page later on without knowing any code. Also has built-in SEO meaning people will be more likely to find the website when searching google, etc.

Just don't spend money as there's too much awesome free/open-source stuff out there (i use Drupal btw - but that takes time to learn)

Thanks for the advice - I am slowly getting to grips with nvu thingy - but seems very bare, I would like a template. The problem is that my dad is a craftsman and therefore doesn't want a 'racy' look - more sophisticated and simple.

Sneaks, don't use Dreamweaver. In the throws of PhD research, it's not the type of software package you want to get to grips with. I went on a basic Dreamweaver training course (and still gave up).

I did use the website builder tool on Network Solutions to create an 5 page site for a friend's business. It took me a few hours to put the whole thing together on a template (it's not free though, and probably not good value for money).

Some of the websites produced with Wordpress look really impressive (I was unaware Wordpress could be used for web design!).

Ok, not going to use dreamweaver. I don't get the word press thing though - can i design it all before anyone else can see it or is it always online?

Hi Sneaks, the usual approach with wordpress is to install it to a webserver (they have a 5-minute guide for this) then do all the editing through the web-browser. Using templates may seem constrictive but it's how all modern websites work -- i.e. content and appearance are separate, which is a v. good thing!

Also, nobody is going to find your site unless you give them its URL as google won't usually index a page until it's submitted here http://www.google.co.uk/addurl/ .

ah ok, do I have to pay for a server?

[sneaks sits in the corner with the pointy hat of dunce upon her head :-( ]