Take the time to get familiar with your guitar. A lot of beginning guitar players let the instrument intimidate them and end up taking it in to a repair shop for simple repairs that can be done at home, without the cost of a repair shop. Cleaning your guitar and changing strings regularly is something you will have to do if you play for any length of time. Don't be afraid to take the strings off your guitar and polish the body with guitar polish. Taking the strings off is easy. Keep an extra set on hand in case yours become dull. You can purchase guitar strings in sets or separately, so purchase extras of the three thinnest strings because they have a tendency to break most often.
Many people pick up the guitar and expect to play complex solos right away. When they can't, they often get discouraged. Start with chords. You can find plenty of chord dictionary websites online to help you learn chords. Consider learning two or three chords a week. If you can strum chords, you can pick up almost any piece of music and strum the chord changes while you sing along. This will let you start playing songs right away, limited only by the number of chords you know. The more chords you know, the more songs you can play. Since many songs use the same chords, learning just three chords can offer you endless possibilities.
Don't neglect learning some music theory, including how to read music. Many guitar players prefer to play by ear and never learn to read music. You don't need to invest a lot of time in deep music theory, but learning to play major and minor scales can get familiar with the neck of your guitar, finding the notes and recognizing the sounds that will be helpful when you begin learning solos. If you don't want to read standard music notation, consider guitar tab. This is a system of music notation designed for stringed instruments that tells you which frets to play rather than notes. A lot of guitar players use this rather than traditional notation.
By default, many beginning players focus on the hand that forms chords and plays notes. This is an important part of your playing technique, but don't forget your strum and picking hand. While the hand you place on the neck of your guitar finds the notes, the way you strum or pick those notes determines the rhythm you play. The two hands should work in conjunction to play a song.
One of the best ways to learn to play guitar is to play songs. Whether you listen to your favorite songs and try to play by ear, purchase sheet music books or take advantage of the many guitar music websites available, take time to learn your favorite songs.