I have been making websites for about 10 years now. I recommend HostGator.com as having the most reliable uptime and very reasonable costs. Their help desk is awesome. For the website itself I recommend Wordpress. It is a one click install from within your hosting cpanel. There are TONS of videos on YouTube with tutorials on how to do everything in Wordpress. I think it is a pretty easy learning curve compared to making websites using HTML. Using Wordpress you will need a Theme (think template). You can get a free one, along with various plug-ins (they give specific functionality) free at Wordpress.org
Hope this helps!
Levada