Wow, you need to get the Pergo video,as you have some basic misunderstandings.
You can lay the strips any way you want, but in general, the appearance is more pleasing if your major view....such as from the entry door...is of strips running parallel to your line of sight. If the strips run across your line of sight, especially in a narrow field of view, it looks like a ladder.
Pergo planks used to glue together, but today, I believe they just have a snap together tonque and groove joint. That takes a little practice, because you have a joint on the long edge and on the narrow edge to deal with.
Most laminate floors like Pergo are "floating". But you are putting this down on a substrate...see instructions!....and it does not "slide around". All wood floors including laminates need 1/4" to 1/2" gap around all four walls...for expansion and contraction. The base moulding strips cover OVER this gap, but do not 'fill it in'.