ALL websites, regardless of how they were created MUST be hosted somewhere - if you want some to see/view them. If you want to create a website and want to be the only person in the world to see them, you can keep them on your local computer. Doesn't make much sense though.
Dreamweaver it simply a program that simplifies the process of designing what you want. It includes coding shortcuts - you can insert a paragraph, table, bold some content, change color of some text, whatever without any hand-coding. I did use Dreamweaver for years, but you can hand-code in a plain text editor, if you wish.
If you create a website with ten pages, you have to create everything for each page. Understand that html coding is nothing more than a method of formatting/displaying the content. You create the ten pages, upload to your server and your website it viewable by the world.
If you want the background red on one page and green on another page, you change to code on the page and there you are. The content (what you wrote) and the formatting are all in one editable document.
WordPress handles things differently. In WP, you create the overall design and layout you want and save it. The CONTENT, although it displays like it is an integral part of the design you created, is stored in a database. When you (or a viewer) elect to display a page, WP pops up the design you created and retrieves the content from the database. You cannot open an html page in WP like you can if it was created in DW.
The difference between DW and WP requires a rethink of how web-based documents are created. For example, if I want to create a page on one of my WP-based website called 'Oli', I simply open WP, go to the Dashboard (call it control panel if you want), click Pages, Add New, give it a name and save the change and that's it.
Understand that there is no content in 'Oli', but I could add whatever I want; text, forms, video, links to other pages/sites/text/whatever.
As esmi says, if you've never used WP before, consider crashcoursetraining.com - they offer a reasonably price course that explains what WP is, how it works and gives some good examples. Worth the nominal cost.
I've been using WP for about three-four week because I decided to convert what I do from Dreamweaver to WordPress. I can do in less that 5 minutes what took 15-20 minutes in DW. Take a look at my first DW to WP conversion at <arklatexmoaa.org>. I'll finish by saying that doing this in WP is a hell of a lot more fun than in DW - and a LOT easier.
