I've been doing web design professionally for about 10 years now, building web pages for one-man bands and media giants alike. The golden rule is keep it simple, and that goes for your tools as well. If you're just starting out with web development the temptation is to get some fancy tool that does it all for you, but what you'll undoubtedly end up with is a mess and you won't be able to understand the code that's been generated well enough to understand why it's a mess.
I use Notepad++, a simple graphics program, and 10 years experience, but in the absence of experience, a good HTML reference will suffice along with the link posted above to webpagesthatsuck. Learn HTML and use it to structure your page. Then learn CSS and use it to make your page look good. If you keep things simple, you should be able to view your page on any web browser since NCSA Mosaic (the first graphical web browser, and the reason why online porn exists), through to the iPhone.
If you need any pointers, feel free to PM me.