I prefer html and css coding. I never use any program to make my websites. It gives me a better feeling of knowing I did the finished product all on my own, and if there ever is a problem with the site I know exactly what it is in the code that is messing up because I can read it. I've seen many sites that are made in a program like dreamweaver and through the designer's computer it looks great, but on other computers with different resolutions... well, it looks like crap. Be care if you use dreamweaver. I suggest taking the time to learn code. I believe you can never "learn code" completely. You simply, keep learning from website tutorials like w3school and your mistakes. It's a challenge that can become difficult, but as long as you have determination, you can get your site looking really great.
A suggestion I have is to google "Web page templates" and take a browse around the different templates. This way you get different styles and themes. A great thing to do is to try and recreate one or more of these templates (using code of course) and see what you can come up with. You really might suprise yourself with what you can do.
Have fun with web design. It's a lot of fun. Don't be scared to try things out. The worst you can do is completely mess up, but what are you to learn without ever trying? It's like riding a bike. You can read how to ride a bike, but until you get on the bike you will never understand it completely. If you have any problems with the coding post your problems here, or contact me. I'll be happy to help.