If you’re going with routes 1 or 2 you’ll need a web editing software and with route one a graphics software.

While I don’t want to get too much into this as there are a lot of specialized websites online about the subject, you should keep in mind that you’ll need good editors for best results. Which in this case doesn’t mean you’ll have to pay for them (yes, this is an exception).

For the graphics software as a free solution, GIMP is likely the best option, as it will get good results with a soft learning curve. You’ll also be needing a HTML editor, which I would recommend HTML-Kit, which is also free and easy to use.

Learning HTML is pretty simple (it’s not even considered a programming language) and you’ll be able to know what the code is doing in no time (analysing the code from the template, for example) and it’s also easy to do stuff by checking snippets online.

All in all, you do need a program for this, but it’s not too hard to code in HTML and if you can, it’s the cheapest option.