The absolute most important thing is marketing your site thru search engines. Cool graphics will feed your ego, but content is what drives the web and brings return visitors. My advice is to look at a company called SIte Build It The link takes you to a 30 min video tour that will educate you quite a bit.
(Sorry I had to delete the link. This is a tough place to visit. PM me). I thought this would be best starting point for you but there are others. They are a truly great company, and the process takes some time but guides you through the whole process from keyword targeting to domain name selection. Once you get the site built and working, you can always go to a designer to make it prettier or fancier. But by going thru the SBI process first you will know what it important. If you PM me, I can direct you to some great resources on one of my websites, but I am unclear about link-posting rules here so don't want to push my luck. I already have one negative point for a brand name mention and I haven't even ben here a day yet.
