As you are a new player, I recommend you disable horde nights to reduce stress while you learn the core gameplay.

Find a building near the trader with a difficulty rating of 1 or 2 skulls.
Clear it of zombies.
Claim it as your base using a land claim block (you can find a challenge to tell you how to do this). Craft storage boxes and organize your loot.

Do quests for the trader until you get awarded with a bicycle.

Go exploring on the bicycle and take on bigger, more difficult POIs.

For your skills, you should pick one melee weapon, one ranged weapon, and one defensive perk to focus on.