http://www.the-phil.com/viewtopic/46...-Web-Host.html
Great article on picking a host from someone who's made a fortune on web building and marketing. A good personal friend not just something I dug up.
For building the site planning what you want out of it, as some mentioned a blog is a free way and a good start as you can always grab a new host if you get a reader base and then have a site built.