Things I should know before creating a Minecraft Server/Helpful Tips or Websites?

Hey so me and my friend want to make a minecraft survival server together because the one we used to play on closed and we haven't been able to find one we like since, they're all full of rude/unhelpful people.

I know about the costs about running a server and such which is all fine but when i googled how to make a server it came up with lots of warnings and complicated information which in itself almost put me off xD

Basically what i'd like to be able to do for the server is to be able to install plugins and the little bits like that and have around 10 slots at first just enough for my friends to join and to explore the possibilities of later expanding the server.

I'm from the UK and most of my friends are from the US, does this change anything?

I also mainly use a Windows laptop which is a very good expensive laptop and runs minecraft very smoothly but do i need to use a PC?

Also, if i were to set the server up on one laptop, could i then move it across to another? Because my laptop is currently being repaired and i'm borrowing the computer guys laptop for the time being so is it possible to transfer the data?

If anyone could answer these questions or give me any extra tips or help or even link any useful websites that'd be awesome and i'll deffo be up-voting answers and chosing the most helpful one in the end so please give all the info you can!

It is very easy to transfer the files, just copy them to a flash drive. Keep in mind that you will have to port forward. You internet should be good enough for you and your friends to play through, you american friends might have a little lag though. You do not need to use a PC, acutally I would recommend using a pc with ubuntu on it for preformance reasons, but windows is fine. Make sure you have plenty of ram to allocate to it. If you want to exand your server get a cloud server host or the cheaper way would be to get a VPS and run it off of there. If you want to host in the could go to www.pytohost.com and get the Grass Package (cheapest one I have found) Also don't make your server public if you unless you are dedicated to it because it is very time consuming. I would wait until the summer to do that if even. Also go to www.portforward.com to learn how to port forward your router.