Don't play a Fighter.
No, seriously, don't play a Fighter. A Barbarian or Ranger, or Slayer, will let you participate in the game more.
But if you must, Str 16+2, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 12 Wis 12 Cha 7 (or Int 7 Wis 12 Cha 12 if you like, the difference is less than you'd think). Take Power Attack, Cleave, Combat Reflexes. Get a reach weapon and some thrown weapons and some acid flasks.
For a 20pt buy I'd do str 16+2, dex 12 or 14, con 14, int 12, wis 14 or 12, cha 7.
feats toughness, weapon focus (greatsword/whatever weapon that you wield in two hands) and power attack.
Or go Focused Study human and bump one of those combat feats to lv2.
Get full-plate as soon as you can.
cleave isn't a bad choice lv2 and can be traded out later for better stuff.
with that you're set for combat. Use the fighter feats to pick up combat feats with a preference on feats that only fighters can take, like weapon specialization.
Use your normal feats for general feats that you want to take. go for skill focuses if you want(if you do skill focus go focused study human).
Is this the "best" fighter? no. It it a good basic fighter that does what you're asking for? YES!
If you go ranger make sure you pick archery as your combat style, that way you get all needed archery feats, and then you can spend your other feats on things like power attack to help make you very strong in melee. This way you are effective at range, and can easily pull out a greatsword and wade into melee without any decrease in efficiency.
Str:18
Dex:12
Con:14
Int:14
Wis:12
Cha:8
Feats-
Human: Power Attack
1st level: Weapon Focus
Fighter Bonus 1: Toughness
18 Strength + Power Attack and Weapon Focus will have you doing plenty of damage. Just grab a 2handed weapon (or a 1handed weapon wielded in 2 hands) and go to town. Toughness and 14 Con keep you alive, 12 wisdom helps your Perception skill and Will save. The 14 Int may come as a surprise, but I recommend it for a very good reason. Combined with being a human, you'll have 5 skill points per level.
If you look over the Fighter class features, there is absolutely nothing that has to do with anything other than fighting in combat. I have seen more than one new player decide he didn't like the game because he decided to play a human fighter. With very few skill ranks, you'll find that you're completely useless out of combat. This may lead you to be bored whenever the group isn't fighting, leading you to initiate combat when nobody in the group wants to so you can have some fun, or just sit around quietly and watch your friends play (possibly not saying anything other than "I attack" during an entire play session).
So with 5 skill ranks per level, what skills do you take? Perception isn't a class skill, but you max it. It's mandatory. 4 points left over. If you want to help the party in social situations, you could put points into Diplomacy/Intimidate, Bluff, and Sense Motive.
To be clear, this is not a min/maxed build. This is an "I'm a fighter, but I also want to participate" build. With no spells, and no fancy mechanics like Rage (barbarians) or Panache (swashbucklers), you'll find your options are limited, but the character will also be very simple to play. From there, just come up with a good personality and backstory. This would be a good build to learn the basic rules of the game, and if you decide you want to try a more advanced character when you're more confident, you can have your fighter go on vacation and roll up a barbarian, ranger, or other martial class.
I'd recommend the ranger switch hitter build (combat style archery, regular feats into power attack etc.) In the beginning it isn't really much more complex then the fighter, but you have more skills and uses outside of combat. Over time, it adds in a bit of spell casting to help you learn how that works as well.
I would recommend that you won't go with the big stupid fighter idea they are suggesting you with these builds.
Before you start to work with the numbers. Try to picture your character. Think of a name and a description, a brief background is also a good idea. Doing this will help you picture your character and what he can do and what aspirations he has.
Don't ditch any atribute, especially the mental ones. Try to keep them as low as 10. Why? because not being a retarded, reckless or antisocial dude, will make it easier to play, considering you are new to the game.
Onto the system, I do believe Fighters (even vanilla ones) can make great characters. They need a little optimization and smart play, but there are several builds proved to be effective.
Pathfinder is a game that rewards specialization, and above all, good teamwork. The game is designed so you take on adventures with a varied party that covers all the challenges you will face.
As a fighter (or martial character) you will probably be on the frontlines, so good resistance and defense should be the chasis of your pc. You said you want to be respectable on the damage bussiness, good news, it is the easiest thing to do in pathfinder and martials are usually the best at it.
If you want to start with something simple, and you are beggining at a low level, Fighter is a great class to work as a tutorial and can easily grow into something complex depending on your feat selection.
Finally, if you want some numbers, here are some basic builds:
The heavy-hitter
Str 18 Dex 13 Con 14 Int 10 Wis 12 Cha 10
Weapon focus, Power attack, Furious focus, Cleave
Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Pick up a two-handed weapon, get close to an enemy, crack his head.
Pros: You do lots of damage, ignore the penalty for power attack and can hit and additional foe adjacent to the one you hit.
Cons: you are a one trick ponny, and really, a BSF.
The tank
Str 18 Dex 14 Con 12 Int 13 Wis 10 Cha 10
Combat expertise, Improved trip, Weapon focus, Combat Reflexes
A little more tricky. Get a reach weapon with the trip quality like a guisarme or a horsechopper, and when your foes try to get pass you and provoke attack of opportunity, you use the trip maneuver, ruining their action and letting them prone.
Pros: you are a good defender for your party, and can hinder the enemy action economy.
Cons: you are risk-taker, and will need more feats to make this strategy viable in the later levels.
The archer
Str 14 Dex 18 Con 13 Int 12 Wis 10 Cha 10
Point-blank shot, Precise shot, Rapid shot, Deadly aim
Ranged attacks are the best fighting style in the game. In you want to go this route though, there are better classes at it, being the ranger one of them.
Pros: heavy damage at a distance, can be very effective quickly.
Cons: on the long run, the ranger and gunslinger classes end up being the superior choice.
The plan for the future
Finally, the fighter is one of the best classes to multiclass. You can begin as one, and then switch to another class that fits your style of play to complement you character once you have a better understanding of the game.
As I said, the best way to do your character is to have a good picture of him before you start writing numbers. The rest comes easily.