Hi JH,
I'd have to, also, agree with what's been said here already. If I had the time myself, I'd give you a complete technical review, alas, you will need to settle for a few links from me
.
You mentioned not knowing a thing about HTML, CSS, or SEO and being on a budget?
Learn HTML (cost: FREE)
Learn CSS (cost: FREE)
Learn basic SEO (cost: FREE)*
I've also written a quick and dirty guide for learning
(X)HTML/CSS even if you don't know HTML and it goes over some basic design principles like color selection and page layout.
Though not free ($79), I'd also recommend Aaron Wall's
SEO Book - great read and chock full of information. In the meantime, you can read Aaron's blog for free (it's the SEO Book homepage).
Hope that helps out,
~ Teli
* I'd also highly recommend reading through the
Google webmaster guidelines because I feel it's a great no-nonsense resource for building a long lasting site.