What program(s) works best for building a business based website?

I am going to start web based business in the next few weeks and I would like to do my own web design. I do not want it to be over the top, using flash, or anything too complicated, but at the same time I do not want it to look simplistic or like it was built using a template.

Eventually I will need to incorporate a database, but most definitely not at first. And I will be setting up a merchant account and will need some sort of shopping cart feature.

What program(s) would be best suited for building a site like this? (I will be working with a pretty skilled graphic artist, so I really just need something to build and maintain it)

Thanks in advance!

A good completely free program is Kompozer. It's been compared to much pricier software.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/kompozer

dreamweaver or ms visual web developer

I鈥檓 using a great online company called Sitesell. This is the very first time I have ever built a website, so I needed a company who could take me by the hand, step by step!

I have nothing but praise for them! They make EVERYTHING so easy! They supply all of the online training, simple (yet incredibly sophisticated tools) and excellent support.

There is small annual hosting fee to pay but that includes all of the above plus your domain registration. They even supply the templates for designing your site! And don't worry about html coding or other techy stuff as that's all taken care of for you!

My site is only 18 months old. but It鈥檚 already very highly ranked by the major search engines and is attracting more than 30,000 visitors a month鈥?.and rising! Plus it generates a substantial income which not only well exceeds the costs, but actually shows a very healthy profit!

You can get more details from my information page at:
http://www.gourmet-food-revolution.com/b...

Best wishes