Designing your own website may at first seem daunting, but it is actually a lot easier than you might at first imagine. There are many programs available to help you on the way, and some web hosting packages actually come with easy to use web design software, that would give you a basic site within a few minutes.
There are, of course, different levels of web design and once you have your first site up and running you may wish to improve it in some way. There are many ways to improve a site, be it the aesthetic value, its functionality or its visibility to search engines.
For example, including a site map on a website helps in a number of ways. It enables a visitor to find a page that they may be confused about reaching, but it also aids the search engines to find every page on your site.
The way that you store images can also have a big difference on the speed of your site. It is better to use smaller pictures and image file sizes, as they load much quicker than large files. There are many programs to help reduce the size of image files.
If you are interested in designing your own website, then there are some simple to use programs available. Look at Wordpress as a way of dipping your toe into the waters of web design. This is free when hosted on their own site and is an excellent way to begin learning.