There are many sites on the web with instructions on  how to get started.  GENUKI has a very good document written by Roy Stockdill that is very informative Newbies guide to Genealogy and Family History it answers most of the questions you're likely to ask.
 

For further research or ideas I found the following links helpful (or just good old plain reading), I will add links periodically, in the most part, they will cover the Yorkshire area, which is where I live and where my own research is based.

Yorkshire Genealogy Pages

• 1834 Electoral Roll for the East Riding of Yorkshire
• Borthwick Institute of Historical Research
• City of Hull Central Library
• GENUKI -  Yorkshire
• East Riding of Yorkshire Archives Service
• The Yorkshire BMD

General Genealogy Pages

• The Genealogy Home Page
• GenealogyPortal.com  
• Browse for books on Genealogy

Off site links.

• Metcalf-Waslin Genealogy Home Page
• FreeBMD Home Page
• GENUKI Home page
• Public Record Office | The National Archives
• Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet
• FamilySearch Internet Genealogy Service

• Free Genealogy Search Help for Google: This free site will help you use Google™ to search for your genealogy. It will create different Google searches using tips or "tricks" that will improve your search results.