Hi there,
@1: well, setting a webpage can be as easy as copying one file, and as hard as developing a whole framework. It really depends on what you want to do.
There are two possibilities for getting started, you either get a hosting or a vps.
The first option is perhaps the easiest, as your hosting provider will set up ftp space, php and sql databases for you and all you really need to do is to copy your php scripts there, or install a redaction system like Wordpress. That is as easy as copying it there, setting your database password in configuration and visiting your webpage.
You can then use Wordpress tools to write pages in html, or using their new Gutemberg editor, although I have no idea how accessible it is, I like the html way personally.
The second option, vps, is somewhat harder, but should be doable as well. I am not expert in setting up Linux servers, so I hope more experienced people will correct me if I'm wrong, but infact all you need to do is to install a lamp configuration - Linux, Apache, Mysql and Php. There are preconfigured packages to do this, although I don't know if they're suitable just for development or for production as well, that might be worth checking before you open your server to public. After you're done with this, you'll have a structure similar to that of webhosting, with one directory for php files, some databases running and also ftp access, if you need it.
Note that just to make a simple webpage, you don't need vps. Infact you don't need vps even for more complex things, as long as you're satisfied with php, html and css.
You need vps only in case that:
* You want to use some other language, such as python or C#
* You need to run a dynamic server, like that of Stw, accepting connections from your applications
* You want to perform more complex computations, such as converting audio or video files, training neural networks, etc.
That's it. It's not hard, if you select the right services for right things.
Best regards
Rastislav