Don’t know if my comments are too late – just saw your post. Here is my very personal suggestion -I am sure others will disagree on my recommendations, but they serve me well.
1. Select a host, open an account with them (I use GoDaddy for several sites, but there are many others), select and reserve a domain name (most hosts can help here).
2. Go go Joomla.org and download the latest version of Joomla! (free, open source web design software).
3. Buy the book Joomla! – A Users Guide by Barrie M. North and read through it.
4. Dive in!
You can test your new Joomla site on your own computer using the free program WAMPServer – get it at http://www.wampserver.com/en/ .
When you are ready to go live, upload your site to GoDaddy (or whatever host) enable enable your domain name