There's so many layout styles, both good and bad. If you're starting out, how do you know what you should do? If you're looking to update your look, what are you going to pick?

Layouts reflect a lot about your page and the quality of it. An attractive page design will make your visitors interested in seeing how good your content is (but remember, the content is more important...) Layout can be confusing, and it can be tricky to pick one from the others. Here's some of the more common designs, and some of the more unique ideas.

An image map with no text links, blah background, then random babbling:
Don't you ever do this! If you use an image map, please provide text links! Some people don't want to wait for the image to load. Make it unique instead of slapping it down and having accompanying text.

Tile background, midis, large text, javascripts, possibly thick-bordered tables:
To me, this screams "amateur" or "used the provider's HTML editor". I don't recommend the larger font sizes. Many people get annoyed by javascripts and midis, and some can't load them. And to me, a table with a thick border is unnattractive. Tile bgs can work, if you do them right; if you can't seem to find a text color that you can read on it without making it large, you aren't doing it right. Avoid this layout.

Colored in table cells, possibly on a black background, midis:
I've seen this a few times and never really liked the result. Again, avoid the midis. Even if you don't put up a midi, colored cells can be annoying. Consider something else before using this.

Frames:
Personally, I don't like them, in most cases. It's usually the same thing; black sidebar with links to pages, then your mainpage, and the links act weird... Avoid this! However... if you can do something unique with them... say, make the borders not so noticeable, have them going horizontal, some neat images and things... I have seen few people manage great frames, but when they do pull it off, it's probably the best looking design.

Border backgrounds (image on the far side, and usually a solid color for the rest), table with no border:
I like this look. Make sure the text is readable without being large! Don't put visible borders around the table; it will look awkward. This is a nice design. It's become quite common though, so it can be a bit boring after awhile.

Table with a sidebar image on white background, no borders:
This looks quite nice and organized, but again, it's becomming common.

Same as above, except a solid color or tiled background:
Hmmmm, don't see this that often, but the results is usually nice.

"Corners" layout:
This involves taking an image, and making it go across the top, then a second image down the side of the table, the two fitting together, of course, so it's seamless. No border on the table, of course, or it would ruin the effect. This is tricky to do right, but it will look fantastic when you finish. This isn't very common due to the difficulty.

Okay, so now you have an idea of these layouts. You have some things to choose from. But why not be unique? Try something different. Dare to use bordered tables. Have a unique image map broken into tinier rectangles (as some people are doing and making it look great). Use some java to make image links light up when the mouse moves over them. Throw in some colored cells on the sides or top.

Learn HTML, and practice making a page with it. See how good you can get it with pure HTML. Once you're sure you know how to use it, get a WYSIWYG editor. Huh? Why learn HTML if you're just gonna get an editor? If you want to take full advantage of the editor, you need to learn how it works. Some editors don't provide commands that you know; for instance, the editor I'm using doesn't seem to have support for non-underlined text, so I have to go type that in myself. If the editor screws up and the page doesn't turn out like you meant for it to, you might be able to fix it using your HTML knowledge. It might seem like a waste of time to learn it, but it's worth it.

The more thought you put into creating your own unique layout, the better it will end up. Make something like no one's seen before. Make sure it's good, though. If your page doesn't look nice, most people won't bother to see how wonderful your content is. And make sure your page isn't just pretty. Take the time to make your page worth the visit. When people start complimenting you and linking, it'll be worth it :)

As for you, the visitor: Remember, sometimes a bad layout hides good content. Check out some of the site before you decide it isn't worth your time. Some people are creating their pages with pure HTML, and that is hard to do and pull off well. Some people don't know HTML and are just using a WYSIWYG editor, but are still trying to figure out.