Hi I have very recently bought a hubitat and am awaiting its arrival can anyone recommend or have any ideas that may help me after the initial set up
wow thats not open ended at all 
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Go slow, and give the hub time to build a mesh. How to Build Your Z-Wave Mesh
Search the forum for your devices, and any special procedures that your devices might need to work correctly or optimally. Some Zwave stuff for example needs to be paired a certain way.
Use the simplest apps possible to do the job. Simple Automations over Rule Machine, for example.
Watch the tutorial videos, they are short and helpful. Tutorials – HUBITAT
Finally, ask lots of questions, and come here before you get frustrated.
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What are you trying to accomplish? Exterior light control? Motion Lighting i.e. light turns on when you enter a room? Alexa integration? Garage doors? Entry Locks?
Think about some basic things you want to do and come up with a plan. Figure out where your hub is going to live and build out from there.. There are 2 basic types of devices - Z-Wave and Zigbee. Both have advantages and disadvantages.
https://docs.hubitat.com/index.php?title=Hubitat_Elevation_Documentation
Check out the device compatibility page
https://docs.hubitat.com/index.php?title=List_of_Compatible_Devices
Also some videos and build out stuff..
https://docs.hubitat.com/index.php?title=How_to_Build_a_Solid_Z-Wave_Mesh
https://docs.hubitat.com/index.php?title=How_to_Build_a_Solid_Zigbee_Mesh
If you have questions, post questions here on the forums like you are doing! Keep in mind this stuff can get very complex quickly..
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I suggest that you settle in and read every forum post from the beginning.
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Boy that would be a challenge. I think Hub connect and the Node-red threads are about 4K posts each.
I'd start very simple if your new to this kind of stuff. Get a couple of Singled bulbs and a motion and/or contact sensor. Be prepared; once you start to grasp the system you'll start buying stuff like crazy. As erktrek says:
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DON'T start with garage doors or bathroom humidity fans. Please.
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I think you should start with simple automations and automations that if they fail will not be an issue. Lighting is a good place to start.
Also be aware of other folks living in you home. WAP / SOAP / CAP ** is really important especially when starting out. For example, don't create an automation where there is not manual switch for those who interested in the automation. Don't create a light automation where the original switch has been removed or disabled. When the automation fails (and it will eventually) and the other folks in the house cannot turn that light on.... you will be an unhappy camper.
Also IMHO do not make home alarms / smoke / CO detection dependent on the Hubitat (or any) hub. Its fine if they work in parallel but they must be able to function without the Hub.
Stay away from automated door locks and garage open / close function (except for just monitoring if the door is open or close. At least until you've become more familiar with the system and can judge the risk of such automation. i.e. I wouldn't want the hub to be able to open the garage door if it were possible it could inadvertently open after I've gone to work.
Also know that young children will play with anything automated if given the chance. Be careful of automations that can be fooled by repeated activation. If there is a way to screw it up, they will find it.
** Wife acceptance factor / Significant other acceptance factor / Children acceptance factor.
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Hi welcome
Talking about my errors...
Don't buy 2000 devices in one time, for example 10 bulb of the same brand, ask/read or buy 1 and test it.
don't think that cheaper is worst and expensive is good, for me now is the opposite .
Go slowlly, what you learn in the first week about HE, will make you change idea 1000 times about how to use devices how to program it....
Have fun.
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Take about 15 minutes of quiet time and write down the things you most want to "automate". Do those things that require the fewest and simplest number of purchases first (say, using a plug-in module to turn a lamp on and off, before you start wiring in switches). Don't go on a crazy buying spree, lest stuff sit unused for too long. Learn how to create simple but useful rules. Be patient. Oh, and maybe be a bit more specific about what you are trying to accomplish when posting a question, so that you get more useful advice (and a bit less playful teasing).
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Hi guys Thankyou for your help I’m obviously not ready for the advanced stuff. I’m ment where would you start if had to do it all again with litterally nothing but a hubitat and an Amazon Alexa or google home,
Hubitat, probably the Amazon Echo - Ring Doorbells/floodlight cams etc integrate nicely with the Echo Shows and the Ring Security devices can be used in HE or Ring (not both) so there is an upgrade path. Note: There is currently no direct Ring integration with HE (but there are workarounds!). Would also consider some motion sensors (Zigbee seems fastest - NYCE are really good but expensive) and light switches (Z-Wave+ Inovelli, Zooz or GE Enbrighten). Also a Z-Wave+ repeater (Ring Security Extender Gen2) or two to make sure mesh is decent.
Urge you to search the forums for discussions on various types of devices like the best motion sensors.. etc.
https://community.hubitat.com/search?q=Best%20Motion%20Sensors
https://community.hubitat.com/search?q=Best%20Switches
Also I have NOT mentioned the Lutron stuff but it is awesome and expensive so is also an option (and a commitment!) depending upon your budget and "style".
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All kidding aside, you have gotten very good advice above. The direction that each of us have taken in our home automations are probably different than the direction that might be best for you. Take small steps at first, do a light switch or two that meets some immediate need you have. The least expensive path initially may not be the best or least expensive long term.
After you have done a couple of devices, make a plan, expect that plan to change, discuss it with your family. Realize that the plan will probably change. Don’t do everything at once.
And I COMPLETELY agree about the Lutron stuff. Well engineered, always works, very reliable.
Welcome to home automation!
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I basically started from scratch (again) 1.5 years ago. We bought our current home as a vacation property, 500 miles from where we lived but in an area where we wanted to retire, in rural Maine. Our other homes and an office building had been automated for years with other platforms. We ended up relocating to the vacation property permanently after Covid hit and we figured out that we could run our little companies from here (and like the area so much more than the Philly suburbs, where we had lived for many years).
I had been a long-time Insteon user but had grown tired of them for several reasons, and decided to go z-wave. I also decided to try both Homeseer (again, as I started in HA with them years ago and had continued to dabble), and UDI's ISY-994, which had been incredibly reliable for me for several years and in multiple homes. This was before I had looked at Hubitat.
Homeseer proved to be unreliable (again) as it would just lock up every few days to weeks, leaving me with nothing. I even installed it behind a wifi switch in case I needed to do a hard reset, which did prove necessary at times. I still do that on all hubs as an "emergency reboot" option but the ISY or HE have never required it.
The ISY (which was the backbone of my system in other homes for many years) is remarkably reliable in terms of uptime but I hate the very dated java-based user interface of their admin console, which is an essential part of that system. They were also very slow to do or really support much of anything in terms of mobile device access and user interface, and the user community there became a place I did not find welcoming after being a member for many years (but admittedly one who began to complain about the lack of product evolution I felt was occurring). When I felt the company was never going to evolve in a way that I thought brought them "up to speed" with what I felt were more "modern" ways of interacting with an HA system, I knew it was time to look elsewhere, for my personal HA needs. They have a fiercely loyal user community, though, so YMMV. I had dabbled with SmartThings in one small office building we owned, and while I didn't much like the cloud-based part of that, it got me interested in z-wave, which is what led me to Hubitat.
Personally, I'm very happy with z-wave and Hubitat, which are now the foundations of our current system here. In fact, it's basically everything I always hoped the ISY could be! We also use Alexa devices in our home although I refuse to become dependent on them because of the cloud, and frankly the privacy concerns are starting to wig me out a bit. I keep moving away from Google products for the same privacy concerns and their history of abandoning things when they lose interest. For sensors, I've never tried zigbee but will likely do so, soon. What I would NOT do is focus on anything cloud-based for anything other than convenience items. For me, if it has to work, then it has to be local, and that's very different from the argument I was making just a few years ago, before much use of the cloud convinced me to not rely on it.
Anyway, I hope that helps. If you read the personal HA journey of 1,000 users, none will be the same. My advice is to start small and dabble until you get comfortable, but I personally think Hubitat is the best overall system available today for the HA enthusiast or the beginner who wants to "try out" HA.
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