I use notepad/textpad which is not necessarily a good place for a beginner, like yourself, to start.
I do web design/development for a corporate intranet and a couple times a year teach in-company classes on basic web.
First off, don't use Front Page. The code it creates is buggy. It is also IE centric - which means your web pages might not appear correctly on a Netscape browser.
I do recommend Dreamweaver highly - but it can also be a little overwhelming. (and if you are on a budget) - you might want to check out
http://www.evrsoft.com/1stpage/ (first page 2000) This is free. It is for the PC world. Let me know if you want a Mac recommendation. I've started a lot of beginners successfully on this program.
I can also give you some great url's and book recommendations and if you don't yet understand the world of web hosting and ftp protocol can help you out. Just send me an email.
Hope this helps.
Rebecca