I understand your wanting to be able to update and tweak your own website. Thats how I got started trying to learn html to promote my art. It is much like changing tires on a moving car though as the standards and browsers are always changing.
There are software packages and hosting packages available that allow the basic internet user ability to update and manage html pages without having to know coding. The Content Management System (CMS) drawback is limited design variation.
I create custom sites for people who want to keep the focus on their art and let me keep up with changes in technology and frustrating server issues. With the better and better systems coming out I have branched out my services to include setting up blogs and web galleries, preparing images for the web, and advice on other facets of art promotion.
I understand wanting full control over every aspect of the site though so I have my site set up in a wordpress blog which allows me to update it without going in to the coding each time.
I have been recommending these blogs for artists as the additional text generated by blogging can be the difference between a stale website and a vibrant active art portal.
I urge you to set one up for yourself at http://wordpress.com/ and see how easy it is. there are limited changes one can make to the extensive set of templates but I don’t see any need to pay a host or a designer when all this stuff is free. Here are a couple of free blogs:
Blogspot http://blogspot.com
LiveJournal http://livejournal.com
TypePad http://www.typepad.com/
WordPress http://wordpress.com
online photo sites are a good place to host your images :
Flickr http://flickr.com
PhotoBucket http://photobucket.com
Qoop http://www.qoop.com
Shuterfly http://shutterfly.com
Snapfish http://snapfish.com
Here’s a good site with lots of info and links:
http://www.artgroupsdfw.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=684
It’s a tradeoff between ease of use and aesthetics, everyone has their own balance point and thank goodness there are options for us all.