That by template you are thinking iweb?
Personally, I would recommend you have a look at what you can achieve with that. For an initial website, you can do a lot with it.
To learn to create and edit websites from scratch? To my mind, something best left to the experts if you want something that looks professional, not to mention, that works.
If you are serious about learning & using HTML - I would say, you are a braver person than me...
First step tho, would be finding a dummies book (or similar) and start reading up on the basics....Then, think if you really want to go that way!
Stu the crazy bass from down under
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Polar bears for Obama!!