I didn't even think about a domain until I had a decent bunch of content. As for the design, I've only used two pre-made templates on my site and they were the first layouts that my website featured. Since then, I've been making my own.
So, first thing is first. Content. You need SERIOUS and INTRIGUING content, stuff that'll both inform your audience and maybe even leave them thinking.
Second, design. A lot of people are so tired of seeing Freewebs layouts that they automatically leave the website without second thought.
Third, Name. You need a REAL name. If you're trying to do something like Serebii.net, at least wait until you have the domain.
Fourth, money. You can get domains for cheap at godaddy and 1&1. Hosting is a bit more costly and it's not a good idea to be asking for money when your site is brand new and no one has heard of it. How do we know that we wouldn't be investing our money into a project that is not worthwhile or will die within a year (as many sites these days seem to do)?
Sorry if I come off rash, but it's the truth. Get a different free host that'll allow you to venture further into HTML, CSS, PHP, etc, get a nice design, build up content and then if you really HAVE to , ask for donations when people can see that this is something that has already been given a lot of thought and time - those are the sites that are less likely to die and the sites that people will most likely be interested in.
