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Hello,
I purchased Expression Engine 2.0 recently and have already installed it on a server and also already have the domain name for it.  I also have purchased and installed the optional forums module.  I also am almost finished having a professional logo designed.
The problem is because of time constraints I have not had time to design the actual website. 
I have purchased many books on HTML and CSS but also have not have the time to fully read and learn how to develop the website.
I don’t mind using a free CSS template that’s online and making the modifications for my website.  I know what colors I would like and don’t have anything out of the ordinary.  I’d have a row along the top for the various topics on the website and probably subtopics that would be below the main topic.  I’d have a option also along the top for items such as a contact list, faq, and about us section.  Also, there would be an area along the right side of the website where there would be items that could be clicked on for our affiliates and to purchase products through them.  The only other main item would be a link to our forums.  We’d also have RSS feeds and would use addthis for sharing our stories via twitter, facebook, etc. 
Are there places that develop these parts of the website and help get it launched?

any web designer should be able to give you something to go off of.  the beauty of EE templates as it relates to this is that you aren’t locked into a particular structure: any html will suffice.  Just get a static html page worked up, then when you’re happy with it, copy it into an EE template and start replacing the static bits with EE tags that make them dynamic.

I highly recommend you to buy and watch this screencasts…worked for me 😉

http://pragprog.com/screencasts/v-riexp/building-a-dynamic-website-with-expressionengine

After this, choice a nice XHTML /CSS template here (all cheaper and with high quality):

http://themeforest.net/category/site-templates

And start your EE adventure!

See ya!

Ana Lucia

Thank you for the above replies.  It will definitely help me get started.

any web designer should be able to give you something to go off of.  the beauty of EE templates as it relates to this is that you aren’t locked into a particular structure: any html will suffice.  Just get a static html page worked up, then when you’re happy with it, copy it into an EE template and start replacing the static bits with EE tags that make them dynamic.

To some this may seem like magic when migrating an HTML site to EE. All you need is EE’s templates and tags and knowledge of HTML and CSS. EE’s tags are straightforward and far easier than dipping into PHP.