May I make a suggestion? I know you are new to guitar and all that. Being inexperienced this will feel awkward but go to the stores and play the guitars in your price range. It's ok if you don't know a single note or chord. The guitars you will be most likely looking at will be the strat ( mex or Squire) and the Epiphone ( g400 or Les Paul). Yes there are the Cheap Jacksons and such too. Try them as well. Even if you never played a note some guitars will feel better in your hands than others. Neck thickness, neck shape, string spacing and so on. You don't need to know what the dimensions are you just need to feel the differences between them. Some will feel comfortable and some will not. Cross those that aren't comfortable off the list. Then it becomes a matter of price and what you like the best. I suggest if you are just starting out don't go overboard on the sticker price. Wait till you see if playing guitar is for you before going for a "professional quality" guitar. There are a lot of nice guitars in the 400-$500 range and to be honest the only thing that makes one better than the other is how it feels in your hands. Don't dismiss a $200 squire just because it has a low price tag. If it feels good in your hands and doesn't buzz and rattle when you play up and down the neck, then it's a good guitar.

Just my 2 cents worth. Good luck and let use know what you get.
B.C.