Experienced Website Builders because well, they have lots of experience

I would like to make a website. In fact I have made many but have not been really happy with any of them. Like freewebs, tripod, geocities…..

Iv done tons of searches on the Internet & there is TONS of info but I think Iv been overloaded & am just plain confused. Its enough learning to make my own layout, etc., but I need to find somewhere to work. I thought geocites would be good but I heard others saying its restrictive etc. I want to make my website ”from scratch”. Its just for fun really so I don’t want to buy anything yet so thats why it has to be free. Later on I may want to purchase my own www.domain-name.com etc. but not now.

What is the best place to set up my website?? It would be great if the answers came from people who also work on building real websites, etc., (well non-free ones lol) Iv gotten all kinds of opinions from people…do any professionals on the web have suggestions for me?
I got the following response (i will add it) when I asked this question but still need help, one my original question & on the answer.

I know the best would be a paid for service but thats just not something I want right now. So Im trying to find the best, less restictive one that is free, for now. Since I know almost nothing about all this. A bit of what they said confused me. Im very new to all this so some of, most of what they said isn’t something I quite understand yet. I have aol & dial up….. Could someone explain all that more simply??

The answer I got before is below
Question/Answer Information

acklan
Member since: March 31, 2006
Total points: 15,648 (Level 6)
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acklan
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The best places are not free.I have b een using Yahoo Small Business for years and very happy. $12\mo and free Domain.
Have you looked at the free webspace your ISP provides? I am with Cox Cable (20 mB of space) and find it adequite.
The other option is to serve it yourself. make sure your ISP allows this. Check your ISP’s TOS (Terms Of Service).
You can use http://www.DSLwebserver.com http://www.PortForward.com for good resoruces to running a home based web site.
and use http://www.NO-IP.com to resolve the Dynamic DNS issue that not having a static IP address presents.
If you have XP sp2 with IIS installed, a broadband connection (DSL or cable), and two hour you could have your site up it 5 to 6 hours (Allowing for reading on the first server setup).
Ok, Thanks. I suppose I will just stick with Yahoo! GeoCities for now. I like how they have their ads set-up. I’m going to work on the actual website layout etc. if I need to change for some reason I will try others again. Thanks for your help.