iOS 7 was a major redesign and your iPad will look completely different and operate differently. Lots of apps work differently too. YouTube for example is a completely different app written by Google and has many shortcomings compared to the original iPad app.
iCloud is a free way to keep your computer backed up. It is up to you whether you use it or not, but if you do not, I hope you keep a copy of your iPad contents on a PC that is in a different place than where your iPad lives. Having no back up is rather foolish.