So I've got a good understanding of PHP but never heard of JSON. I've got everything you said. How do I make it work? 
I guess that'd depend on your OS
Windows 7
http://bitcoin.org -> install bitcoin
http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html -> install xampp (which includes php)
have a read of https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/PHP_developer_intro
http://jsonrpcphp.org -> get jsonRPCClient.php
the OP was aimed at coders who already have the basic dev environment set up.
How would I set this up?
I guess that'd depend on your OS
http://bitcoin.org -> install bitcoin
http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html -> install xampp (which includes php)
have a read of https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/PHP_developer_intro
http://jsonrpcphp.org -> get jsonRPCClient.php
the OP was aimed at coders who already have the basic dev environment set up.