Your very first playthrough should be vanilla.
Play on normal, if you find it impossible to progress, play on easy.
Do the tutorial, read carefully.
If you prefer tank controls, leave the settings on default. If you prefer arcade controls with the ship pointing its nose towards the mouse cursor, there's an option for that in the settings. Either way, "shift" changes the behaviour from one to the other, although it's hold-to-activate, not a toggle.
The "autofit" button in the refit screen is your friend. These loadouts usually work pretty well and provide a good balance.
Low tech = Bulky, lots of armour, uses ballistic weapons.
Midline = Uses both ballistic and energy, decent shield and armour, basically the most well rounded ships.
High tech = Uses mostly energy weapons, usually pretty low armour, but very good shields.
A good ship for a new player is either Eagle or Enforcer. Then you can upgrade depending on your tastes. Don't forget to give orders to your AI ships, they can make a big difference.
You can pause at any time, even during combat, using space. So take your time.