If you are going to try a host I will recommend you to try free one year virtual dedicated server hosting from jumpline
you can find the details here -
Online Money Making Sites » Blog Archive » Jumpline - Free webhosting for a year
For developing the site if you are looking forward for a dynamic site then check
OpenSourceCMS - Home - where you can test various cms systems
The CMS Matrix - cmsmatrix.org - The Content Management Comparison Tool - to compare various cms systems
ForumMatrix - Compare Them All - to compare various forum scripts
as per free forum scripts I have tested many scripts but still some how like phpBB even though its difficult to install (with all the mods)