More help needed than the Getting Started Guide

I have worked through the Getting Started Guide but I need to back up somewhat. The guide starts with the assumption that you have all the pages correctly set up. I need to get the info on how to set the pages up correctly so that everything works.

Is there a source where I can find out how best to set up a page so that for example when I run the Checkout Wizard all the files are created correctly. The sample files use Dreamweaver's Templates but I have as yet not uses the Template function at all. Is this necessary or can I use normal php files with includes for headers etc.

I get he feeling there is much still to learn.

I got hold of "The Essential Guide to Dreamweaver CS3 with CSS, AJAX and PHP", and have spent a number of months getting to grips with the contents. A brilliant book for a beginner like me and a great reference for an average guy like me (yes I'm getting better all the time). Still missing something though. I have also gone through all the Help files found on the Webassist site.