Web Design: The Complete Reference Book

There are plenty of books on how to write HTML, and in fact Thomas Powell has already written one (HTML: The Complete Reference. This title is about the harder task of Web design, including planning the content, working out the overall layout of the site, making pages compelling and easy to use, and avoiding the numerous pitfalls of Web development. It is nevertheless a hands-on book, and the author assumes some knowledge of HTML, stylesheets, JavaScript and simple image manipulation. The idea is to help Web authors design and evaluate their work, with the focus firmly on the user's perspective.After a general overview of usability, the author looks in detail at site navigation, including hyperlinks, indexing, and designing effective search facilities. For example, there are several pages on different kinds of rollover effects, with example code and a discussion of pros and cons. The next part covers page design, and tackles tricky issues such as fonts and colours on the web, and how to include forms and other interactive features.A separate section on Web technology looks at browsers and browser detection, different versions of HTML and variants such as XHTML and XML, server-side and client-side programming, and the use of plug-ins, ActiveX and Java for rich client features. There is also a look at site management and how to make sense of usage logs. A short section covers future directions such as Web access from devices other than personal computers. The book closes with a series of appendices, covering site design principles, evaluation procedures, and references for fonts and colours. With plentiful examples, insights and suggestions, this is a great read for developers who know the technology but are unsure how best to put it all together. --Tim AndersonRead More