I've been modding Bethesda games since Morrowind. To really get the most out of it, you'll have to roll up your sleeves and get ready for some geekery. Also read the forums (STEP, Bethesda's own, or watch modding videos on youtube.
My advice: use STEP as a list of suggestions and tips at first. Just try installing the Unofficial patches, see how they work, how a mod manager works, etc. Crawl before you walk, etc.
I'm not a member of the team for STEP, but it seems aimed more at modders with a background in modding, if that makes sense. To me, the STEP wiki is pretty sweet and has become a very good "go to" for up to date Skyrim modding information.
STEP is also just Vanilla+ with texture and visual enhancement mods... past Bethesda games had some similar monstrosities for modding (FCOM for Oblivion comes to mind.)