What do I need to know? (to do Professional web design)

short version: loose frontpage and if you must use an editor use dreamweaver or something.

longer version: Frontpage is crap and as the old saying goes you can't polish a turd.
Ideally even if you use an editor you should learn at least the basics of (x)html and css so you understand what things are doing and why, makes editing and modifications quick and easy.
Frontpage will always give that cheap boxy look no matter what as it is very limited in it's ways.

You can learn web design without courses and books, find a couple of html sites to get the gist of it all, then find sites or bits of sites you like then look at the source code to see how it was done (don't copy), then using this new found information put it to use, make up sites about anything and explore different layouts and styles. Most designers/developers require a style, if you check out their portfolios you can see a trend between their sites you will gain one over time, just let it evolve and don't try copy someone else's, do what feels right.
Posting sites for review here for example gets a lot of feedback from all ranges of experiences, giving you guided suggestions from previous experience or just personal taste.
Sometimes when you develop sites you get to close, try to hard and it turns to poo, KISS (keep it simple stupid) is a good guide line to keep in mind and often the simplest way is the best.

Practice is the key, learn (x)html and css and once you understand it really your only limited by your imagination, that and the browser incompatibilities

Thanks for the tips, Ive only scimmed over your replies as I Dont have much time at this second, but first thing when I get home I plan to come back and reread, but just wanted to add.

I tried Dreamweaver, but FP seemed much quicker and easier, thinking back its been quite a while since I tried it though, ive learned alot since then and will definatly go back and try it again.

Also im not quite understanding the difference between knowing HTML and using a WYSIWYG. Like I said I followed quite a few totorials and it seemed like the much much longer way to do the things I can do in FP easily. Would anyone be able to explain an example or two of something that can be done in HTML and not FP? It just seems so much easier to be able to see what im doing as I do it.

Heres my opinion on this, I tried all sorts of WYSIWYG editors and dreamweaver outputs less bulk and more semantic doen FP... FP adds tags that could be done with a single line of CSS but declares a whole list of markup that is unecessary or uneeded... Most web designers design with a view in mind and tranlsate that vision to screen by just using codes.. Css has helped a lot in this respect... Other designers build graphic elements first so they can see what there doing using image or graphic programs, and later transform it manually by code and by hands. In my case I just imagine what a finished site will look like, draw it bay hand on a sletch pad, add graphic elements here and there by just imagining the code that will do it for me... Once I understand the basic framework and Ive coded it by hand, its not hard to edit or modify that design for whatever purpose I deem possible... And best of all, browser incompatibility is more or less eleminated since I know when I test which tag made it quirk and what to do about it... Hope you can get enlightenment...

I like the idea of KISS I just use notepad for my codeing unless I have something really complex that I have never done then I use DW so I can see what I am doing while I do it.

If you're just looking for "quicker and easier" then you're in the wrong business. Actually, that probably wouldn't get you far in any business. Good quality work isn't quick or easy. You can go ahead and try to sell cheap, bad quality websites but of course we're not going to try to recommend that.

Learning how to code proper HTML and CSS is essential in this business, especially now that web standards are becoming an accepted norm for high quality professionals. You don't need to use notepad to do hand coding - there are tons of other editors out there that will make your job eaiser. And, IMO, there's nothing wrong with using a hybride WYSIWYG/hand coding approach *if* you know what you're doing.

As for learning, Cameron moll has a timely blog post on this exact same topic:

http://www.cameronmoll.com/archives/001211.html

It might help if we could see what you've done so far. Then we can make more specific recommendations.

Sorry for the slow reply, had some RL troubles that kept me away. Thanks for all of the suggestions. Im definatly going to take them. I just installed Dreamweaver and am going to start trying it out now. My biggest problem right now is a lack of something to make a site about, Ive just been doing remakes of my current only succesful website (blvdknights.net) Which I run for a RL friends car club. The flash was done by someone else but the rest I did myself.

Again thanks for the suggestions this was a big help

I checked your website and it could be improved. The layout is a little too simple. Plus I am not too big of a fan for flash intro.

wonkalow, websites topics can be anything while you practice, ideally a real topic helps (ask your friends and family if they want one done) but use your hobbies and interests for site topics, you dont have to put every site you make on the web, just build it, learn from it and do another. The more you do, the more you understand the better you'll get.
Oh and making mistakes means your learning but don't ever count on never making any - we all do

Looks like you need to learn some graphics! Find a good graphics program (Corel Paint Shop Pro is a good affordable option) and look around on the web for tutorials. Good graphics skills are essential