Andy, those are not dumb questions!
There's plenty of feedback in these forums to suggest that in any shape or form, from the lowest-cost shared hosting up to semi-
dedicated server packages, Windows webservers are inherently less reliable and for most people, that's a clincher.
Additionally, unless you have a need to use specific Windows-only features like ASP.NET Scripting & Ajax extensions, MSSQL or MS-Access databases etc., I suggest you avoid taking on a Windows-based package ...
Of course you'll have to give up relying on FrontPage extensions as per
this thread but that's a good thing for your own personal development.
You will find that cPanel + Fantastico provides you with easy control of your
website hosting, along with lots of useful free PHP scripts that are ultra-easy to install/uninstall, all from your browser. Additionally you would be wise to download a free FTP client like FileZilla and use it for uploading/downloading content to/from your web account (although the same can be achieved using cPanel). Don't forget that most anything that's beyond your scope of understanding can be answered by eUKhost support in an Online Chat session, by email or here.
And Linux control panel is better than
Windows control Panel
Let's see how many Windows server supporters answer with an opposite opinion ...