Thank you for your advice and suggestions. I am gald that I had not misunderstood the basic concept, at least.
I shall have a look at the links for working locally and uploading to a server to make sure that I understand it before starting.
I did notice, though, that one fo the guides mentions oddities about the way Windows 7 interacts with WordPress. Does anyone know whether WordPress will work on Windows 8 if I use the same staps as for Windows 7?
I already have a host and a couple of live sites, so would much rather work off-line than run even the faintest chance of interrupting the live sites.
Regards,
Catceefer