I have to agree with the script, I started by hand too and it gets very time consuming that way when it starts to grow.
If you like to make lots of changes, make sure you get something flexible too. I find myself changing my layout around a lot and it's easier when you have a script that lets you do that easily. (if I wasn't online, I'd be the type of person who re-arranges the furniture on a regular basis lol
)
If I had to do it again, I'd also make sure to have more categories than I started with. It's a real pain to make new categories or split big ones up & would have been easier to just start with lots. The only thing about that is to make sure you can fill them up right away (with hfs or your own sites). There's nothing sadder looking than an empty category page
at least you know the ins and outs of LLs & freesites, so that should make it easier. It's a natural progression
good luck
