Exposure
Exposure controls how light or dark your photo is overall. When editing, the exposure slider is often the first one you touch: it lifts the whole image up or pulls it down. A well-exposed photo keeps detail in both the bright and the dark areas.
Always set exposure before you start on contrast or color, because everything else builds on it. Watch your histogram while you slide: as long as you don't push data against the edges, your detail stays intact. A common mistake is leaving everything too dark out of fear of blowing out the sky. Dare to lift the photo properly, then fine-tune highlights and shadows separately afterward.
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The presets on this site set these adjustments up for you as a starting point, which you then fine-tune to taste.