How to install packages

[news <"r.t.wilson(news)"@rmplc.co.uk>]

Hi

Sorry about posting again on here - hopefully eventually I'll learn 
enough so I can help others on here!

My question at the moment is about installing packages. I managed to 
install mode-compile, by copying the .el file into a certain directory, 
making sure that directory was referenced in (add-to-list) in my 
.emacs 	and putting this in my .emacs as well:

(autoload 'mode-compile "mode-compile"
   "Command to compile current buffer file based on the major mode" t)

I am now trying to install the help+ package - which I have got as a 
file called help+.el and I've put it in the same directory as the 
mode-compile file, and then put this in my .emacs:

(autoload 'help+ "help+"
   "Command to give better help" t)

but it isn't working.

Again I'm probably doing something silly here - but I'm not sure what. I 
also can't seem to find a simple guide to installing packages on the 
internet anywhere, and not all packages seem to have instructions at the 
top of their .el file.

Cheers,

Robin