[noahc]

Websites are composed of two parts the frontend and the backend. There are various tools to make each part easier.

The front end is composed of html, css, and javascript. As far as the html and css go, you can get started very quickly with a framework called css blueprint ( http://www.blueprintcss.org/ ). You probably don't need javascript for very basic sites.

The backend is composed of a programming language and often times a framework. I'd recommend Google App engine + python. Google supports a number of frameworks, but I recommend going through the tutorial found here: http://code.google.com/appengine/docs/python/gettingstarted/

Let me know if you have any questions. It'd also be useful to know what type of experience you have.