Questions about chess in the beginning!

So I have been playing chess online recently and losing. Allot. Basically because I dont know what to do in the beginning of the game. Once some pieces are out I can think ahead, but in the beginning I have no clue what to do. I pretty much just try and protect the middle of the board (not well). I know there are openings I should learn and things but its challenging to follow them under the circumstances often. So what should my thought process be in the beginning? What are my goals? And what are some good openings for beginners?

Basic opening theory is not so bad.  None of it is absolute, keep that in mind! 

Control the 4 center squares, get your pieces off the starting position, castle, and don't put your queen out somewhere that you are constantly being attacked and retreating it.   Don't hang pieces, and pay attention to any offered trades as to how they mess up your position (or not): most offers early on are attempting to undermine your center, or your pawns generally, or swindle you out of a piece with some tactic. 

for white the strongest, simplest opening is probably the queen gambit. 
for black, responses to e4 require some study on your part as to how to approach it.  e4/e5 is weak, so you need something else against stronger opponents, and the options are not so simple. 

Chess Openings Resources for Beginners and Beyond...

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/openings-resources-for-beginners-and-beyond

Improving Your Chess - Resources for Beginners and Beyond...

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/improving-your-chess-resources-for-beginners-and-beyond

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell

Welcome to your chess journey.  Hopefully it's a journey that never ends!

Hello and welcome

There can be so many questions in the beginning with chess but there are plenty of useful resources out there. I wrote a blog about my experiences reaching 1200 rapid in my first year of getting into chess. It answers all of the questions you have listed. I'll leave it here in the hopes that some of the ideas help you out. Feel free to DM me if you have any further questions. 

http://talenthackerblog.com/2022/06/20/chess-beginner-to-intermediate-in-one-year/

@1

"I dont know what to do in the beginning of the game." ++ Control the center, bring your pieces into play, castle to defend your king and connect your rooks.

"I pretty much just try and protect the middle of the board" ++ That is good.

"there are openings I should learn" ++ No, not at all.

"what should my thought process be in the beginning?" ++ The center

"What are my goals?" ++ Control the center, bring pieces into play, castle

"what are some good openings for beginners?"
++ As black defend 1 e4 e5 and 1 d4 d5, as white open 1 e4.

https://www.chess.com/blog/KeSetoKaiba/opening-principles-again 

Mostly it is just a matter of getting your pieces to better squares and protecting your King this early in the game.

The Italian is a great opening for a beginner, but honestly, I wouldn't worry about openings beyond the first 2 moves. Just get an idea on why it is you are playing that opening. 

Now, your goals are a simple word, "Hanging pieces".  Every single one of your opponents is going to be leaving a piece undefended or under defended.  I absolutely guarantee it. Your task in the beginning is to find that piece, and capture it. Once you capture it, then you simply look to make equal trades on pieces and pawns until your opponent runs out of pieces and can't defend his king anymore. 

Easy, peasy.

Focus on hanging pieces tactics and mate in 1 / mate in 2 tactics in the tactic trainer.  If you can't afford a membership to chess.com, lichess.org has tactics for free. 

Do the lessons for opening moves. I got a lot out of watching Simon Williams' videos on London System because it's a simple way to develop the pieces and get strong position in centre.

What do you recommend for black against 1. c4?

Just try to develop your pieces well and you will do good. Here is a quite common developmental pattern of mine:

No matter what, I always start with the Van't Kruij's Opening (e3 if you're white) because it protects from scholar's and fool's mates, gives good development, and controls squares on an active diagonal. I'd recommend this for you. Some good bishop developing moves are c4 and e2 right off the bat. You might also want to take some drills on opening studies under drills under practice under learn under l. toolbar

When moving in the opening, think about your moves. Is this move going to impede the development of another piece, is it going to leave another piece hanging? What is my opponent trying to set up with this move? Defend against your opponents plan before he executes them. This will make him mad and use more time on his clock thinking about a new plan. I’ve played so many guys that try early aggression with their queen only to have me chase it around the board and eventually trap it but Thinking is required. IMO, if you study openings, you’re getting rid of 1/3rd of the computation your brain has to do in a game. This will only hinder you in the long run. Seems like throwing away 33% of your computational power for future games. I’ll wait till over 1200-1400 to study openings

thanks for sharing

@11
"What do you recommend for black against 1. c4?"
++ 1...e5
https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1937769

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1937849 

I got this,...

Ok……

I have to do lichess