To build a site from scratch, you would need technical knowledge. No getting around that.

These days, web design is far more sophisticated than it was in 1998. Lots of extra bells and whistles are expected by consumers. So it's unwise, expensive, and laborious to begin from scratch in most cases.

Even professional web designers typically begin with a functional template, which they alter to meet the needs of a given project.

Amy Austin's recommendation is a good one. Browse WordPress themes at a site like ThemeForest.net. Pick one you like. Usually that's around $50. If you don't want to set it up yourself, you can hire someone to do it for you at a site like Freelancer.com. There lots of people will bid for the job, and you can choose the designer based on skill and price.

Visual layout can be changed. But if you need features and functionality not found in any of those WordPress themes, then you may need to use an underlying platform other than WordPress. 5% chance of that.