Using a launcher is not hard. Have you actually installed one and tried it out? I've tried several launchers and Nova Launcher hands down is the most polished and user-friendly in my opinion, so I recommend that you install that one. I've searched but I wasn't able to find any tutorials but I suggest that you install Nova and play around with it and I'm pretty sure you'll figure everything out on your own like the rest of us here. If you have any issues or anything just ask us here and we'll be glad to help you out, in fact, that's what we've been doing when we can't figure something out.
What do you mean by missing icons? To add an app to your home screen, open your App Drawer and tap and hold on an app icon and it will get dragged to your home screen.
If you want to read more about Nova Launcher:
Best Android Launchers & How To Use Them - trendblog.net
How to Set Up Your Android Launcher | Android.AppStorm
How to use BlinkFeed with Nova Launcher:
YTR Pro Tip: How to Use HTC BlinkFeed with Nova Launcher on the HTC One - YourTechReport.com