Create a website using a Wordpress Theme that I have purchased

I have a domain name. I have found a wordpress theme that I would like to setup on the domain name. I have purchased the theme and spent some time manipulating the site already, but I've run into some issues. I would like to start afresh and customize the wordpress theme for my website. There are a few specific features we will work on: 1) Header and Footer 2) Home page with latest postings arranged neatly, and sidebar with items like "recent posts", "facebook activity", etc 3) Main Menu for 4 categories 4) About us and Contact us pages 5) Category page which shows all articles in that category and allows visitor to click on any article 6) Single post page for a single article 7) Disqus comment system (I already have a disqus account) 8) Social media links and sharing buttons 10) One of the key features will be to have the theme adapt automatically when an article does not have an image (vs. showing a blank space where the image would have been)