Product Description

Web Design Inspiration at a Glance

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Customer Reviews (4)

Awsome book
I've been waiting for this book to come out and finally it here. great reference to new and exciting web layouts. great ideas of grid and prespecitive in different ways of designing website - one page to horizontal layouts. if you liked volumn one book you will like this one.

The cure to designer's block!
I bought both volumes of this book and I'm impressed. They are both full of unique and beautiful websites. I feel as though the author was reading my mind, picking only the best websites that truly are like interactive works of art. It is the cure to my designer's block!

These books are made to work together and combine into a huge collection of some of the world's most truly awesome-looking websites. One isn't complete without the other, so if you buy it, be sure to buy volume 1!

INSANELY good compilation of styles and inspiration
First, if you don't have the first one, you're missing out.They fit together perfectly... hopefully the start of a long series!

The Web Designer's Idea Book: The Ultimate Guide To Themes, Trends & Styles In Website Design

Like the first volume, this is full of carefully picked examples of the best in modern web design.It's organized into very clever topics making it the perfect reference book.It's loaded with screenshots, screenshots, and more screenshots... just as before, but all new, and more recent.

In this version, the screenshots are even larger and easier to pick up on detail and text.They've also included "Developer Notes" which I think are pretty insightful and in context.

If you are involved in web design in any way (even if you're hiring other people to do it), this book will be super handy.The two editions are the same size and style... they're intended to be on the bookshelf together.With the two combined, there must be a thousand organized designs to look through.The amount of work that went into collecting such quality work without "filler" junk is astounding.

I'm really impressed... if you can't tell!

On the negative side: I'd personally prefer these came in large hardback coffee-table books.While maybe not as handy, it certainly would be great to have around the agency.Maybe after the 3rd edition, they should release a combined volume!

Where design is going ...
This the second of two comprehensive, up to date books. Great for the talented wanna-be web designer or already-is web designer but needs inspiration to get to the next level and see patterns in beautiful web design. Organization of this book is beautifully laid out and easy to reference. The author really knows good web design. The pictures are rich with color. Absolutely love the spot varnish on the cover.
Anyone who wants to know where design is going should buy this book. I have ordered several for my friends who are thinking of getting into this field or already are...! ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (71)

great web bacis
This book is wonderful for those wanting to learn the basics of Web design. The book explains the terms in easy to understand language along with easy to do and learn exercises. The way each chapter adds on the what you learned the chapters before really helps a person to understand the flow of creating a Web Page.

Great Book
This book is great, it talks in strait english. The only minus is, it has no glossary, but the abbreviationscan be found on the internet.

Great Intro / Refresher Book
Best intro to web book I have seen - as far as xhtml, css, and getting graphics ready for the web. It is the book used for my class and I am glad this is what was chosen. It does not get into design really - it is mainly focused on marking up and using css to manipulate the markup. Previously I thought the Heads Up series book was the best intro (due to it's active learning method) but I really think this is the best intro now. Hopefully she keeps this updated as things change.

Really good for beginners.
The book is very helpful for beginners. Written by an industry professional, and gives you more relevant information to web coding, such as dealing with browsers and different audiences, rather than code only. Again, this is for beginners, so don't expect to learn all of XHTML after reading this book. It's a good start though.

Excellent Beginner or Student Book
I teach introductory web design in an art college's continuing education program and this is the book I started recommending to my students (who are often artists, writers or designers wanting to develop basic web design skills) after one of my students purchased it as a HTML/CSS reference book. This book is ideal for a complete beginner, more advanced web students may need or want something more sophisticated.

Here's why I recommend Learning Web Design to my beginner students:

1) The book is in color. Most (possibly all) of the HTML and CSS reference books my students buy are in black and white. For creative, non-technical folks, this can be a challenge--wading through page after page of black and white text can be mind-numbing. The design of the book uses color to indicate key pieces of code, etc, which is very helpful for beginners.

2) The book doesn't cover everything--and doesn't pretend to. It thoroughly discusses the basics of HTML, CSS, web graphics and the process of creating a web site and introduces some intermediate concepts, but really only covers what 90% of beginners need to know.

3) The writing tone is friendly (I like the Dummies Guides for the same reason), which is great for non-technical users.

4) The exercises that accompany each lesson are good, and are nice jumping off points for students.

5) The discussion of graphics is better than in most books I've seen--it seems that a lot of basic web design references drop the ball in this area, probably because they're trying to cover so much material in the HTML & CSS sections. ... Read more

Product Description
Inspiring Web Design at a Glance

The Web Designer's Idea Book includes more than 700 websites arranged thematically, so you can find inspiration for layout, color, style and more. Author Patrick McNeil has cataloged more than 20,000 sites on his website, and showcased in this book are the very best examples.

Sites are organized by color, design style, type, theme, element and structure. It's easy to use and reference again and again, whether you're talking with a co-worker or discussing website design options with a client. As a handy desk reference for design layout, color and style, this book is a must-have for starting new projects. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (46)

Great resource for ideas and inspiration
I am very pleased with the sheer number and quality of the websites showcased throughout the book. It will not only inspire me to design better websites but it will also serve as a great tool when meeting with clients.

I agree with the others that the screenshots are a bit small and the details are hard to see, but other than that I highly recommend this book for anyone going into web development.

Great book for any graphic artist!
Loved the book!It has tons to inpire any graphic artist or designer.It utilizes various color palettes and styles used in some of the best websites around the world.I have only had it for a short while but it has already proved it's worth.I can't wait to get the newest volume of this book.

Very useful
Many many examples of websites, including colour schems and web-adresses.
They are categorized, so you can find what you want very quickly.
Nice book.

I like the book's cover, just that..
I'm disappointed to be honest, the images are very small and I can't really admire the sites, information is little. I think you can find better information on free gallery websites -or- at least you can view them better.

Not the author's fault here, it could have been printed in a better way.

This book is perfect for beginners as well as professionals
Some of you might disagree with me but I think this book is perfect for both beginners as well as web design professionals and freelancers. I've purchased it for more than 6 months and I still go back to it for ideas and inspirations. This book has always been helpful when I need to create designs for my customers. 5 star in my book. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (75)

I don't know whom this was written for
I had doubts about what this book could do based on the length, so I borrowed it book from the library; I was very glad that I didn't spend money on it.

I recognize that this book was written about three years ago and some of the designs might be dated (web design changes very quickly), but a fair amount of the the websites identified as "beautiful" simply are not so.The site that the author designs, which he refers to throughout the book, is really just kind of boring-looking. That the author does not seem to know what constitutes an aesthetically pleasing piece is probably reason enough not to buy the book.

As a web designer, I can say that It has almost no information in it that will be new to you if you've ever designed a website or read a book about graphic design.It is completely useless to anyone, because it does not give basic skills (Illustrator, Photoshop, CSS), it just kind of touches on a bunch of random topics without actually going into much depth.

From the beginning, the author tries very hardto make it sound like anyone with any level of experience can design a beautiful web site, but that simply isn't so.In trying to sell this book to everyone, the author neglects to mention that you actually need talent and practice to be able to design something decent. Imight even go so far as to say that he is contributing to the current idea that graphic/web design take little effort and thought, and that the people who provide these services deserve almost no compensation.

Good solid principles book
I like the sitepoint line of books, they provide good direction. As someone who worked in design for some years, the book itself is a good read but deals mostly with design principles, if you just need to get a grip on some solid principles then the book is for you.

A design book for non-designers
As other reviewers have mentioned, this book is an introduction of design principles for non-designers. It's written so well that a person without any art background like me can understand it. I know many people don't have a few thousand dollars to hire a designer to design their website. This book may help you start design websites by yourselves. I said help you start. You'll definitely need more help. This book let you know what kind of help you need so you can go to internet or other books.
I read other books on web/graphics design but those were too heavy and I was overwhelmed and just couldn't finished them. This one is the best. And it only has 168 pages.

Too basic if you have any design background
This book was the text for a User Interface course I was planning on taking over the summer, however I moved and dropped the class. I still had the book though, so I read through it (very quickly, in about 3-4 hours). If you have no concept of design - if you don't know what the color wheel is, if you don't know anything about typography or texture (although, also, what he creates and calls texture is technically a pattern) - maybe this book is for you. There's not a lot of practical examples, no conversation about the tools used (photoshop vs illustrator vs whatever). The author does state that design is difficult to explain, and most good design is reflexive for the designer. A designer has years of experience and training and knows almost instinctively about colors and type (probably because of using bad ones in the past), but if the author couldn't verbalize this, I wonder how he got a book deal to begin with.

I'm rating this 2 stars because at least there were some good resources, like the site for checking colors and typography, but I think for the price there has got to be some better options out there to learn basic design. I was really hoping for a more in-debt UI book but the book doesn't really touch on UI at all, which makes it a random choice of text for the class.

It's ok...
I was expecting something with graphics, images, examples, but it didn't really have that.I was mostly reading.Which is fine, but it was a bit outdated.The book was in used but good shape though. ... Read more

Product Description
“While you’re reading Neuro Web Design, you’ll probably find yourself thinking ‘I already knew that…’ a lot. But when you’re finished, you’ll discover that your ability to create effective web sites has mysteriously improved. A brilliant idea for a book, and very nicely done.”
— Steve Krug, author of Don’t Make Me Think!
A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability

Why do people decide to buy a product online? Register at your Web site? Trust the information you provide? Neuro Web Design applies the research on motivation, decision making, and neuroscience to the design of Web sites. You will learn the unconscious reasons for people’s actions, how emotions affect decisions, and how to apply the principles of persuasion to design Web sites that encourage users to click.

Neuro Web Design employs “neuro-marketing” concepts, which are at the intersection of psychology and user experience. It’s scientific, yet you’ll find it accessible, easy to read, and easy to understand. By applying the concepts and examples in this book, you’ll be able to dramatically increase the effectiveness and conversion rates of your own Web site.

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Customer Reviews (25)

Neuro web marketing is a recall of Neuromarketing
Nothing new under the sun. I have purchased the kindle edition and found it readable. However despite the writer recall the three brain theory (new brain, middle brain and old brain) she doesn't mention the grounbreaking book "Neuromarketing: is there a buy button inside the customer brain", written by Patrick Renvoisè and Christophe Morin, with the first edition in 2002, and the latest editon can be found on amazon too, where this model is well explained and depicted. You can find it here http://www.amazon.com/Neuromarketing-Understanding-Buttons-Customers-Brain/dp/078522680X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1286894132&sr=8-1 . With Your success In Mind. fabio

Your websites will be more effective.
Great insight into human behavior and motivation. If you're a web designer, you need to understand what motivates your site visitors. Now if you've been in sales for several years, or you're a psychologist, you already know much of this. But, even if you have such a background (and you now find yourself designing websites), it can be difficult to know how to apply these things to site design. This book does a great job of taking the lessons learned from many psychological studies and applying them specifically to web design. And the studies themselves are fascinating reading. Your websites will be more effective.

It's just awesome
I got the book a while a go, and I've read it more than once. It's just great. Cool direct tiny understandable examples that makes you realize how you've "clicked" before because of what it says.

It's unbelievable well explained and has just enough data that you can get.

Really recommended.

Not much original stuff, not deep enough
If you haven't read any book on application of psychology in persuasion, this may be a good book for you. Otherwise you can safely skip this book. This book overlaps a lot with other books such as "The Psychology influence of persuasion" by Robert Cialdini. Almost all the examples used in this book have been seen in other books.

And this book stops at the surface of every topic it touches. Most of the techniques it suggests are those you can figure out by yourself.

When you do decide to buy, do buy the kindle version whose price is $9.9. You really shouldn't pay $19.9 for this book.

Neuro Web Design
Decent book about the psychology behind what makes people click and buy. Marketing tactics. Easy to read. ... Read more

Product Description
Web designers must wear many hats. Among books on Web design, Web Design All-in-One For Dummies is the one that helps you successfully wear all those hats without losing your head.

Full-color illustrations and five self-contained minibooks show you how to be a graphic designer, creative organizer, visual communicator, markup language technologist, and cutting-edge trendsetter, all in one. This book helps you lay the groundwork, follow design rules, test your site, register a domain name, and much more.

• Getting Started covers planning, defining your target audience, choosing the right software, and more
• Designing For the Web acquaints you with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, plus how to choose a layout and optimize graphics
• Building Web Sites gets down to nuts and bolts: putting text, images, hyperlinks, and multimedia files together, organizing content, and building navigation systems
• Web Standards & Testing teaches you how to test and validate so everyone can enjoy your site
• Publishing & Site Maintenance helps you get your site online and keep it current

Web Design All-in-One For Dummies also helps you learn how to choose a Web editor and graphics program, how to make your site accessible to the widest possible audience, and when it’s time to call in a pro like author Sue Jenkins. It’s just what you need to start and manage a great site. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Web Design For Dummies Review
The book is in just like new condition. It came in the time frame stated. I would purchase from this seller again.

Very good condition and helpful book
This product arrived quickly and the book was very helpful.Excellent resource for someone wanting to do web design from scratch or using Dreamweaver.

I bought it as a reference.
I bought this book to use as a reference.So far, it has been helpful when I needed it.Fortunately, I found a host that provides a very user friendly website design software, so I haven't had to look up too many things.

Amazing, hands-on reference
This easy-to-follow, well-written reference is a must-have for anyone looking to develop a website, especially for those with experience in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, but not in Dreamweaver or other web software programs. I've owned this book for just over three weeks and it looks like it's been around for years with how much I've already used it to develop my own website.The chapters are invaluable to helping me understand the essential elements creating and launching a website, including CSS, testing pages, and announcing your website to the world.

Not as helpful as I thought
This book is NOT for 'dummies' (those new or with little expertise).The background for web design is given in detail, but the implementation is for those who have seemed to major in the subject. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (16)

I always recommend Head First Books
I am learning to build websites on my own, and these books are the only ones that explain complex concepts in a visual format that is appealing to a graphic designer.

a disappointing follow-up to html and css with xhtml
as a beginner new to web design, html, etc., and having just finished head start's html and css with xhtml and finding it to be very well organized, informative and a great introduction to learning css, i was looking forward to head start's web design book as a logical next step to building my knowledge of web design. as Angela Tate stated in her review, "there is little within the Head First Web Design to justify its nearly 500 pages." i am halfway through the book and would have to agree. i am so frustrated that i've come so far in the book and feel like maybe i've learned 5-7 tid bits of information that i could keep on mini post it notes. the excerises also feel rather contrived. you find yourself asking, is it necessary to actually do this and what am i going to get out of it? it's feels more like information was created to fill a need for exerices, or a side note space had to be filled so a side not was written. structure drove the content, rather than the content driving structure. i didn't feel that way about the exercises or any of the information in the previous book...

Rife with errors (not just typos)
I have a feeling that the other reviews of this book were posted by employees of O'Reilly.
The chapters are disorganized, the writing confusing, and the code buggy. The authors are often confused on the meaning of design terms. For example, chapter 2 introduces the concept of a visual metaphor, but the authors explain it as the use of color and design elements. They don't seem to be aware of the fact that a metaphor is a comparison between two things to help comprehension, like using a tab shape for navigation links. Tab navigation is another concept that they got wrong. They assign the term "tabbed-naviagtion" to any sort of horizontal navigation. They don't seem to understand that for that metaphor to work, it actually has to look like a tab.
The download files for the tutorials are already complete, making it harder to follow along in the book. Many of the pen and paper exercises are not thought out, like on page 209 when they ask you to draw navigation on a black masthead. The answers to the exercises are often frustrating, like when they ask you to rename categories and then the answer on the next page says the category names were good like they were.
I could go on for days about how poorly put together this book is, but I'll leave it at that.

Good book!!
i just some day that i received this product to my country, i live in Peru in SouthAmerica. Only Wait 2.5 weeks and i can read some page and it's very funny the way how the book was design to understand easy for all the persons who can learn about how do you start to design a web page.

How you can improve the web page of your costumers, in a real situation. It's very interesting. I recommend this book for all the persons interested in web Design.

Great resource for beginners, but not for a complete novice
Pros: Easy read. Helpful methodologies. Good references.

I have to admit that I found the format of this book interesting. The writers' tried to inject a lot of character, color and some lightheartedness into something that can become very dry reading. Some aspects becoming tiring after a while, but an overall good job. There are some good strategies here. The books delivers good pointers on how to handle information architecture, lay out a web page and color theory. I also appreciated that the book was sprinkled with links to great online resources for site designers and ideas on how to moved forward once you've read the book.

Cons: Needs more meat

This book is great for folks needing to build simple web sites. That being said, I wish it could have touched a little more on the back-end, server side of developing a web site. It did touch on how to build a blog, but I would have like more discussion on database technologies and how to build an application.

Still a nice job and a learned a few things. ... Read more

Product Description

"Graphics" brings together all you need to know to make effective use of images (GIFs, JPEGS, PNGs, and animated GIFs). "Multimedia and Interactivity" helps with adding audio, video, or Flash to your site (including some succinct tips on optimization and publish settings). And "Advanced Technologies" covers JavaScript, DHTML, XML, XHTML, and WAP and WML. And there are six useful look-up tables in the appendix, which include HTML 4.0 tags, deprecated tags, attributes, and CSS support across browsers. Web Design in a Nutshell could easily have been titled The Web Designer's Companion--it's mighty handy to have around. --Angelynn Grant ... Read more

Customer Reviews (131)

Arrived as described
Book was exactly as it was described.Got to me pretty quickly.Good deal too - way less expensive than Borders or Barnes and Noble.

Web Design in a Nutshell
This is a great desk reference book! While it is a challenging book to read, I know it will come in super handy when I need to find the answer to a specific technical question!

Late Shipping
I had ordered this book within my state (Michigan) so that I might get it faster.It was not mailed until a week after I had placed my order.Very disappointed as I needed this book for a college class.

one of the best books around
the author knows the subject well, and she writes well.i found myself reading the book for hours, and learning new things in a nice and organized way.if just all books are like that...

it is good for beginner and intermediate level.if you are at an advanced level or guru level, you may find that you know about it already.but since this book talks about so many aspect of web technologies, unless you advanced in most areas, you probably still find it useful or good to have as a reference.

Good Textbook
Reached me in time (Amazon Prime) in excellent condition. This book is perfect for all those who are beginners in Web Designing. Five stars. No Fault! ... Read more

Product Description
Most discussion about Web design seems to focus on the creative process, yet turning concept into reality requires a strong set of deliverables--the documentation (concept model, site maps, usability reports, and more) that serves as the primary communication tool between designers and customers. The only guide devoted to just that topic is now bigger and better.

Combining quick tips for improving deliverables with in-depth discussions of presentation and risk mitigation techniques, author Dan Brown shows you how to make the documentation you're required to provide into the most efficient communications tool possible. From usability reports to project plans, content maps, flow charts, wireframes, site maps, and more, each chapter includes a contents checklist, presentation strategy, maintenance strategy, a description of the development process and the deliverable's impact on the project.

The second edition of this popular book is in a larger format with nearly 100 additional pages and contains new chapters with updated and more numerous illustrations. A completely new section teaches designers how to create deliverables in the context of telling a larger story. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (39)

Excellent Web Design, and Marketing Communication book
I can't think of a better resource to refer to in developing the Discipline of communicating graphically.Also it is a verry fast read. An excellent tool set when combined with a refrence book like The Design of Sites: Patterns for Creating Winning Web Sites (2nd Edition)

Great in-depth methodology on UX design
Great book for ux professional. Lots of in-depth techniques on each step of the ux design process. However, for small and medium companies, this approach might be too formal, and may need to be adapted to be more flexible.

Great Resource
This is a great resource for showing you all the various documentation process that surround web design today. This book sits next to me on my desk at work with The Elements of User Experience by Jesse James Garrett at the moment.

full of information
an easy read and jam packed with vital information when working as an interaction designer.

Good reference
The book considered as a very good and valuable reference, I think it's essential for those in the field (development) to have this book in their libraries.
Dan Brown really opened my eyes on different methodologies on design documentation, the content inventory, Concept models, and even the Competitive analysis which I've been performing for a while now. There are some parts of the book that i already know and was useless (not in bad meaning) to me such as usability test, usability reports, and persona.

The best part of the book for me was the site map which is amazingly great. ... Read more

Product Description
No matter how visually appealing or content-packed a Web site may be, if it's not adaptable to a variety of situations and reaching the widest possible audience, it isn't really succeeding. In Bulletproof Web Desing, author and Web designer extraordinaire, Dan Cederholm outlines standards-based strategies for building designs that provide flexibility, readability, and user control--key components of every sucessful site. Each chapter starts out with an example of an unbulletproof site one that employs a traditional HTML-based approach which Dan then deconstructs, pointing out its limitations. He then gives the site a make-over using XHTML and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), so you can see how to replace bloated code with lean markup and CSS for fast-loading sites that are accessible to all users. Finally, he covers several popular fluid and elastic-width layout techniques and pieces together all of the page components discussed in prior chapters into a single-page template.Amazon.com Review
Book Description
No matter how visually appealing or content-packed a Web site may be, if it's not adaptable to a variety of situations and reaching the widest possible audience, it isn't really succeeding. In Bulletproof Web Desing, author and Web designer extraordinaire, Dan Cederholm outlines standards-based strategies for building designs that provide flexibility, readability, and user control--key components of every sucessful site. Each chapter starts out with an example of an unbulletproof site one that employs a traditional HTML-based approach which Dan then deconstructs, pointing out its limitations. He then gives the site a make-over using XHTML and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), so you can see how to replace bloated code with lean markup and CSS for fast-loading sites that are accessible to all users. Finally, he covers several popular fluid and elastic-width layout techniques and pieces together all of the page components discussed in prior chapters into a single-page template.

Guest Reviewer: Jeffrey Zeldman

Modern web design is user-centered, accessible, and standards-based. In other words, it's completely different from the stuff we did in the 1990s. There are two vital aspects to designing with webstandards:

(1) understanding why
(2) knowing how

Know-how is what Dan Cederholm has in spades, and in this updated edition of his essential text, he shares that knowledge with humor and clarity.

Dan's is one of the smartest minds in CSS and HTML. He is internationally known as a deep and innovative coder. But his background is in design and production, working on real-world sites for no-nonsense businesses like Google, ESPN, and Fast Company, Inc.

This grounding in practical user interface design and daily production issues makes Dan a great teacher of CSS, because he never loses sight of the things designers want to do (not to mention the things designers' clients and bosses demand of them).

From multi-column layouts that stay crispy in milk, to maintaining fine control of web fonts and sizes without alienating users: just about every problem a modern web designer faces is examined, with solutions ranging from good to better to best.

This second edition includes everything you need to know about taking Internet Explorer 7 into account. Little else has changed. And that's as it should be, for this book is a classic. It belongs on every web designer's shelf.

-- Jeffrey Zeldman, author, Designing With Web Standards 2nd Edition

Customer Reviews (121)

a must have
very good css and xhtml book! haven't finish reading but i'm learning a lot from this book.

Very helpful
This is a well written book about how to build better websites. He shows you a non bullet proof way and then shows you the correct "bullet proof" way of getting the same result with cleaner more flexible mark up.

I think you will get out what you put in to this book. I also purchased his CSS book. I highly recommend both!

Don't settle for stagnant, poopy static websites!
Dynamic or GTFO! This book is great for beginners to intermediate web designers! Background in basics is needed because it jumps right in to the nitty gritty!

Good book for beginners in HTML design
Just completed a few chapters of this book. The material is presented in a very easy to understand manner. A must have book for people who are beginners in HTML design.

Worth the Money
Though this book isn't exactly as extensive as I'd have liked it to be, it is well worth the money. Well that is, if you don't already know the tips that are offered in the book. But for someone who is just getting into using CSS, has learned the beginner level stuff, this is a good book to help you jump start your journey into the more advanced stuff. If you are starting out in web design this should definitely be a book in your arsenal. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (3)

Great book
This book was great. It covered the process of starting your own web design shop from beginning to end. From the skills necessary to start-up, to an example of a contract that the author uses. He says there are 5 basic categories to being a web designer and goes in depth on each of these and how to get better at them. This book is definitely geared for beginners, so the person who gave this book a negative review was right about that. There are some spelling errors that I'm sure arose from the conversion to the ebook, but they are minor.

I had read a "Dummies" book for web design, but it just wasn't straightforward enough. In this book, the author is straight forward and doesn't joke around. He gives useful information in an organized way from start to finish. I also liked that the author gave so many other resources to look into after you finish this book.

Definitely recommend this book to people interested in making money for their web design, coding skills, etc.

Kindle's edition is almost unreadable
Got my Kindle last week and excitingly ordered the book to read during the labor day weekend. Book's content is OK. Too basic to my needs but that isn't not be the criteria for the poor rating. My main problem is that the Kindle's version is almost unreadable. There are so many spelling errors, mostly on extra spaces within words and missing spaces between them. I don't think the author has even looked the ebook.

As for its content, I expected to read more details on the actual cases rather than general assertions and statements. If you are a complete novice to business, it may help you. All in all, I learned a few things, reaffirmed previously known facts, and skipped most of the rest.

Perhaps the printed edition would have been a better choice.

Good Book
Good book if you wanna get some solid knowledge about how to start and run a small web design company. ... Read more

Product Description
The ultimate guide to Web site design, Principles of Web Design, Fourth Edition leads you through the entire Web site creation process, from start to finish, while developing and enhancing your HTML, CSS, and visual design skills along the way. You'll begin by learning about the Web design environment and the principles of sound Web design, continue to planning site layout and navigation, and progress to Web typography, colors and images, working with CSS, and more. Updated to include the latest Web design technologies and trends, this Fourth Edition features all-new sections on Web accessibility, standards-based coding, and CSS positioning, as well as technical updates and new screen shots throughout. Armed with valuable knowledge and plenty of hands-on activities, you will gain a solid understanding of designing successful, standards-based Web sites that are portable across different operating systems, browsers, and connection speeds. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Used as a college text book.
My beginning web design class uses this (along with a "Master VISUALLY Dreamweaver CS4 and Flash CS4 Professional") to define and teach the princles for correct web design. This book is definitely good for understanding the principles involved in web site creation and implementation. Specifically, how to build a web site to your individual audience and concerns to have when organizing, creating, and designing the content of the site. It's very thorough for this means. I understand that there are some 'coding' issues with some of the examples shown in the book. I have not actually followed any of the examples but use it as a learning point of what to do/not to do for my own web site.

Great!
This is a great seller. the book was cheap and in good condition and it arrived very fast.

Too Basic, only useful part of the book is the CSS but it's very limited
This book is a bit outdated but it was required for my Web Development and Design class for college. If you have NEVER been exposed to HTML or CSS then you will find it helpful. If you already know HTML and only need to learn CSS, you are better off learning CSS off the web or a book dedicated to CSS. With this book we had to use the Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 book by Shelly Cashman Wells Freund. For the brand new price of this book, it would be wiser to spend that extra money elsewhere. But if you really need this book you should rent the book for class from Chegg (that's what I did).

I started HTML in 1998, the only thing I saw useful was using CSS to make your pages uniform. The book doesn't really teach how to make re-usable templates which would have been useful. You're better off getting a reference book if you want to learn HTML & CSS tags and how to use them.

pass
This textbook was a requirement for web design.An intermediate course.This book is just way tooooo basic and a little confusing with items that should not be confusing.The moment I bought it, I returned it immediately as I knew it would not teach me anything.I was right and got a B+ in the class.

You can probably learn more by viewing the HTML of any website of your choosing.

Principles of Web Design
Clearly written/explained for the beginner or for an easy-to- follow review of HTML.Pages are well laid out and easy to read. It's important to me to be able to read the text while sitting in front of the monitor, therefore a book should be legible at "lap height".My only complaint is that "figure" examples should printed on the same page as the text explaining them. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (8)

Great Product, Great Service!
I needed this book in two days to keep up with my online web class.Not only is this a great book for beginning or experienced web designers, Amazon handled my order very professionally and I received it on time.

What happened between 2nd and 3rd editions?
My impression after relying on 2nd edition to teach web design all these years is similar to the 2-star reviewer who wrote this version is laced with jargon and a difficult read. It seems this book has gone from a fundamental primer on basic web design principles that served as an excellent introduction to web design for novices to some kind of "introduction to large-scale web design" that throws newcomers off into the deep end of "analytics," "metrics," and "wireframes." I am seriously reconsidering if I can use this book in my beginning web design course anymore. I understand design tools have evolved and the Internet has become much more dynamic, and that it is certainly a challenge to know where to draw the line between "basic" and "advanced" web design concepts, but this 3rd edition seems to have over-corrected and gotten away from its core strengths.I may just stick with the 2nd edition as it seems to cover the basics much better without the addition of the new content in this 3rd edition...

Style for Your Web Site
Patrick J. Lynch and Sarah Horton's WEB STYLE GUIDE is filled with detailed instructions for how to create an attractive and functional web site. Overall it is one of the more intelligible works on the subject. But it has one major flaw: through out the material they stress into redundancy that the web designer must always keep the user of the site in focus. Who is the target audience?
This is the question which remain in my mind as I read.
Who is the target audience of the book?
Is it a college freshman who is just beginning his academic career?
Is it a someone at home who has an interest, but little formal training?
Is it a business owner who has a product to sell?
These are legitimate questions because comprehension of this material is essential to web design. Yet when the text is sprinkled with sentences of 50 or more words, which have three and four syllables it is impossible without breaking them down into smaller segments. My devious mind has to wonder why they didn't follow their own pontification and do market research as to who was reading their work since this is the third edition.
Nash Black, author of Indie finalists WRITING AS A SMALL BUSINESS and HAINTS.

web style guide
Good book it tells you what you need to know but it was awful boring , I could't
finish it I kept getting lost in the tech- jargon, it treats you like you're going to be part of major web sites which is cool if that's your plan , but I just wanted to start making dynamic web pages A.S.A.P. I've since purchased " Easy web page creation" and it's been great

Web Style Guide -- 3rd Edition
So far, I am pleased with the third edition of the Web Style Guide by Patrick J. Lynch and Sarah Horton. It is well organized and written in such a way that both the novice and the expert website designer can read it and gain helpful information. The language level is not too "techie" for the novice and is not condescending for the expert. I like that it is not married to a particular HTML editor application, but contains solid advice for designers who use any application or do all their own coding. In short, I think the Web Style Guide is well worth the price. ... Read more

Product Description
How many times have you visited a Web site and thought that you could do a better job if only you had the knowledge and skills?   Or perhaps you have a great idea for a Web site but don’t know how to get started? What was once exclusively a task for professionals, Web designing, has become more accessible to amateurs, thanks to loads of handy software. With Web Design For Dummies, you will be able to design your own Web site like a pro.

Web design requires many programs to make a Website attractive and fun, including:

• Using Web editors like Dreamweaver
• Image editing tools like Photoshop elements
• Drawing utensils like Illustrator
• Background markup and scripting languages like HTML and CSS

This fun guide covers all of the topics that every aspiring Web designer should know.   This book offers advice on:

• Designing for your audience
• Building a solid framework for easy navigation
• Creating appealing graphics that work with the site
• Choosing the proper type and colors
• Tweaking the HTML to make everything work correctly
• Applying next-step technologies including JavaScript
• Parlaying your skills into paid work

With expert guidance from Lisa Lopuck, a pioneer in interactive media design and the Senior Producer at Disney, you will be creating superb Web pages that will charm and impress all of your visitors! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (24)

2nd Review
The book arrived later than expected.However, it arrived in great shape.It was also a good price.

good product
this product gives you all the important aspects of a website and how to create them, but if you want to learn HTML or any other coding language this is not the book

Good starter book
This book starts with no (or very little) knowledge of web design, and does a good job of covering the basics. One could fashion a basic website using only this book as reference. Advanced topics would require further reference, but this is certainly a solid foundation.

Working for this "Dummie"
Good book. Was suggested by a local web designer for learning the basics. Only thing is, this prof. designer who suggested the book doesn't use "wireframes" which is a MAJOR part of the book. I haven't attempted a design yet, but will soon. The book is informative and not boring, so I'd suggest it for that reason.
I will add another review after I finish it and work with the local designer on learning to design.

Hope this helps.

Good web design project management book
I didn't realize how non-technical this book would be when I ordered it - I was looking for something that would take me hands-on into creating a web page. I am a seasoned program manager of software and graphics projects, but nonetheless found this book instructive. Projects all have some commonality in their management, and then some specific expertise according to the type of project. This book covers the web design aspects very well. It is also a good foundation for anybody starting out on a web design project, the more so if there are more people involved in the project.

I'd strongly recommend this to project managers embarking on a web-related project. If your project involves many contributors, and you're not experienced in project management, you should train up on project management generalities too. ... Read more

Product Description
The increasingly common use of fast-speed Internet connections over the past few years has considerably increased designers' possibilities to use advanced capabilities, including larger image files. Furthermore, it is clear that web design is reaching its maturity: whereas in the past many designers were hesitant to make the change from print to web, many designers now primarily work in web design. The results of these developments can be seen in this year's edition of our best-selling WEB DESIGN INDEX: as ever, the most accurate overview of the state of the art in web design. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Great Websites, Great Inspiration
I enjoyed flipping through this book a lot. It is a great inspiration for any designer or web developer looking for ideas. I would definitely recommend it.

Web Design Index is the BEST
I love the Web Design Index books.For years I have been buying them and they give me a lot of good creative design ideas.If you're a designer or even a programmer, you can get some really good inspiration here.

Helpful book full of inspiration
Can't say enough terrific things about this, it's one of the best books of modern web design available. Full color, easy to navigate nice layout containing great examples of some of the best designers today. I don't understand why Amazon has reviews from index 8 listed under this new index 9 but this is certainly an improvement over the last couple of editions.

Not Perfect, But Stuffed With Ideas
I dig this series.

There are simply a TON of web ideas here in a relatively small, portable package. Some sites are not my taste, and they may not be built properly, but that's not the point: It's a great way to get a taste of what others have done online.

For me, that's great inspiration and fuel for MY designs, whether it's HTML or Flash, built goodly or whatever. This is not a how-to book, but a great collection of what's out there now (at the time of publication, of course). And, heck, if you don't like what's in here, maybe it's a great how-NOT-to book. HA!

The enclosed CD is great too, making it easy to see the sites online (or on a computer screen), and the background-color-based organization means the ideas you get won't be will not be limited by content or purpose.

Very Uninspiring!
I was deciding between this book and The Web Designer's Idea Book. I completely made the wrong decision. I thought bigger and more expensive = better, but that is not the case. The examples presented in this book are very uninspiring, and like another commenter stated, don't follow proper standards (think tables for formatting, no CSS, entire sites built using Flash and requiring Flash 10 to view them). I think the designs in the other book are much more intriguing. The screenshots of the sites in the book and even on the CD are too small and make it difficult to really get a good look at them. I really wish I could get my money back for this book; I am pretty sure within less than a year's time it is going to end up in the trash bin. Don't waste your money. Get the other book. ... Read more

Product Description
Your web site is a business--design it like one.Billions of dollars in spending decisions are influenced by web sites. So why aren't businesses laser-focused on designing their sites to maximize their Return on Investment (ROI)?

Web design can do more than make a site look good--it can be a powerful strategic weapon that enhances financial returns and creates competitive advantage.

It's time to make web sites accountable. It's time to make design decisions based on metrics and business goals. It's time for Web Design for ROI.

In this book you'll learn:

Why so many organizations think about web design the wrong way
How small design changes can have a big impact on your bottom line
Simple tipsto increase web sales/leads by 10% - 50% (or more)
Concrete design guidelines for:
Landing pages
Home pages
Category pages
Detail pages
Forms
Checkout processes
Packed with helpful examples from a wide variety of sites! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (36)

A must have for your digital marketing toolbox
You have to hand it to the author--this book is solid, not overly technical, and offers some great solutions that you can put into effect immediately.He knows what he's talking about.

Very Clear...Very Suprising
I really underestimated this book. After reading it, I have a whole new understanding of web design in general. It is amazing that you can increase your ROI by doing simple, little things. Please, if you have a site, or work for a site that sells or markets any kind of products or services, read this book. You will expand your pockets. The book is very nice as well. Full-colored pages and no bloat makes it just that much better. 5 twinkles.

Limited usefulness
If you have a local B&M business or a local service business, this is not a very helpful book.It is geared almost exclusively toward online product sales sites.There is still some useful information in here about layout, and about creating landing pages to track advertising ROI.For my particular needs (local service business) I did not find this book worthwhile.

Good basic info on how to build good websites that make money
The book is written for people new to the whole issue of building to maximise income (they call it maximise 'Return on Investment' but it's just a fancy way of saying, "Make More Money".

Remember this a very basic stuff. If you have already delved into this type of material move on.

Not as Bad as some Reviews, but still pricey
I purchased the book for about $39.99 at Borders.It's a nice looking book and has some good information but it was a bit expensive for what information I did receive from it. I know it was a beautiful color book, but the information still lacked overall.

If you are truly a beginner, then this book would do well for you.It has clear examples of some better techniques to use; it just doesn't truly explore the potential of website optimization.

If you are a business owner and want to optimize your own site, then this book would be a really good start.If you implement less than half of what is in this book, you would easily increase your bottom line.

It also makes a great reference book since everything is laid out in a colorful and simple way.

I used some of these simple techniques when I was developing Resorts Web Design.

In the end, what's to lose; just make your Site Better. ... Read more

Product Description
In a complex world, products that are easy to use win favor with consumers. This is the first book on the topic of simplicity aimed specifically at interaction designers. It shows how to drill down and simplify user experiences when designing digital tools and applications. It begins by explaining why simplicity is attractive, explores the laws of simplicity, and presents proven strategies for achieving simplicity. Remove, hide, organize and displace become guidelines for designers, who learn simplicity by seeing before and after examples and case studies where the results speak for themselves. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

What it says on the cover
This book is a delight. Everything about it is Simple and Usable - the layout, the beautiful illustrations, and the text.

It asks why every device we come into contact can't feel simple and usable. But it doesn't just preach this as an aim. It sets out to show what we can do to achieve it, as well as looking at what can get in our way.

It's packed with moments where you read and shout out "Of course, why didn't I think of that?" or "I'd totally forgotten that, I know how I can apply that straight away". A key piece for me was the section about designing for the mainstream rather than for expert users. And the section suggesting you describe what you want to change as a story or vision was very valuable.

It is a very practical book. Using four strategies: remove, organise, hide and displace is an excellent way to go about thinking of a redesign, and the idea is backed up with lots of examples of how to think about and implement these strategies. I can see this is a book I will return to again to deal with specific questions.

My only criticism of the book is the lack of bibliography. I would have loved to have recommendations for further reading

This book has a lovely personal tone, making it clear the author is experienced, knows what he is talking about, but he uses anecdotes to illustrate points rather than to show how clever he is. I'd recommend Simple and Usable to anyone involved in physical or digital product design. But it is also a great read for anyone frustrated by the complexity of current devices, who wonders how they could be improved.

Dip in, think, act
Let's be clear: this is a very short book. It's not going to teach you tons of stuff about how to create a better product. It's not a textbook.

What it is: pared-down, thought-provoking, beautiful.

When I picked it up, my first thought was 'lovely' and my second was 'is that it?'. It didn't seem weighty enough to have that much of an impact.

As I read it, I realise that there's a lot more insight in it than the size implies. Giles has worked really hard to pare this down to a few simple messages that you can act on straight away.

Yes, you can read it all in a (fairly short) train or plane ride. I did that, but I found that I kept stopping to reflect on ideas in the book and how I wanted to use them, or challenge myself to use them, in various projects. I'll come back to it, both to read through and to dip in now and then when I need a little thoughtful inspiration.

Definitely recommended.

You CAN Judge This Book by Its Cover!
Like its predecessor by Steve Krug "Don't Make Me Think", which clearly inspired author Giles Colborne, "Simple and Usable" weaves a practical framework for making intelligent choices when creating user experiences. Laden with real-world examples, the book takes a deliberately simple approach to describing effective techniques for software, website and mobile interaction design. Mr. Colborne's book reflects his ability to practice what he preaches: simplicity. Each concept is described in a single page, with an accompanying, relevant photograph. Organization of the material is like a recipe in a cookbook: a picture of the finished product, a list of ingredients, and a step by step approach to delivery.

Three characteristics shine through in "Simple and Usable":

* Elegance
Call it the "iPhone" of usability books - it's packaged better than other books in this space. It's a fast, easy treatment you can read in a few hours.

* Practicality
Nearly every page has a concept or tactic that you can use every day. The examples stem from products Mr. Colborne has created himself, such as online travel planners or automotive sales websites, or ones he has used, like Flip cameras or the elevator in Tokyo's Apple Store.

* Simplicity
Easily the most noteworthy trait of the book is the information design of the book itself, from orientation to staging and continued through execution.

I would recommend "Simple and Usable" for novice and intermediate user experience designers looking for new ideas or quick reminders of the right way to go about designing interaction.

Best simple book ever
I just loved this book.
I used to think that it was complex to make simple design.
This book simply gives the most important rules to reduce complexity.
Nice pictures, easy to read, fun and persuasive.

The secrets of simplicity, revealed!
Packed with stories and real-world examples, "Simple and Usable" is one of the best books I've read for practical, specific strategies to design products and websites that are delightfully easy to use and learn.

The biggest ah-ha moment for me came when this book laid out the 4 core strategies to simplify a complex product.In just 4 words, it summed up all the key methods a designer uses to transform a product into something that's simple and intuitive: Remove, Organize, Hide, or Displace. Simply brilliant!

This book should be featured prominently on the bookshelf of any usability analyst, user experience designer, or product designer -- alongside works like "Presentation Zen" and "Don't Make Me Think." ... Read more

Product Description
User experience design teams often suffer from a decentralized, blank canvas approach to creating and documenting a design solution for each new project. As teams repeatedly reinvent screen designs, inconsistency results, and IT teams scramble to pick up the pieces. Pattern libraries only go so far, suggesting general solutions to common problems instead of offering concrete, specific design treatments. At times, documented solutions turn into a costly mess of unclear expectations, unrealistic goals, and abandoned work.

Enter components, each of which represents a chunk of a Web page. Designers can produce wireframes, mockups, or markup far more efficiently reusing components based on an established design system. Rather than limit innovation, components enable designers to render solved design frameworks quickly and to focus on the problem at hand, drastically improving the quality and rate of production. In addition, teams develop a deeper baseline for collaboration, a platform for governance, and a structure for useful and predictable documentation.
 
This book defines the role of components and why they matter, maps out how to organize and build a component library, discusses how to use components in practice, and teaches a process for documenting and maintaining components.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Great Book for UX Designers
Nathan Curtis has written a very useful book.My manager recommended this book to me as I am new to UX, and it's been a great read.(It can't hurt that there are legos on the front of the book, either.)

The book has very helpful visuals and goes into depth.If you were ever creating or maintaining a library, this would be an awesome bible and I am sure it would ensure that you didn't miss a step.On the other hand, this is useful for many other situations.For example, our website is going through a massive redesign, and I have found it incredibly useful for doing content inventories of the old site and for thinking of both the old and new sites in terms of modules.

The book is very detailed, which makes it long, especially for people who are not creating libraries. However, it's still a great read and should be read by designers, developers, and anyone else involved with website components.

Skip it
The value-add to using modular design could have been summed up in a blog post (or perhaps a white paper) rather than in this repetitive and rudimentary 300+ page ramble. The chapter on module re-use reads like an Adobe Customer Success Story. The chapters on tools and organization don't even mention working with CMS or UML, though the section on naming conventions is on target. Much of the book is overly focused on introductory-level IA documentation and wireframe styles and the discussions on managing the overlap between design patterns, creative design, IA, and code snippets don't successfully solve anything.

Too broad
There are some good ideas included in the book, but it is far too lengthy.Any professional should find most of the notions common sense, and of little use.

I may have gotten something out of it if it were half the length, much more focused, and a little more detailed.Throw in some case studies of actual cause-effect examples, and it would have grabbed my attention.

Any library catering to neo-professional web designers will find this a key to understanding user interface components
User experience design teams often suffer from a broad approach to documenting a design solution for different projects. MODULAR WEB DESIGN: CREATING REUSABLE COMPONENTS FOR USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN AND DOCUMENTATION discusses components and how to use them based on an established design system, defining their role and discussing how to apply them to practices. Any library catering to neo-professional web designers will find this a key to understanding user interface components.

Getting your designs organized

Expect a very detailed and systematical book about how to think modular when designing for the web and how to create component-based designs, deliverables (wireframes, layouts, specs). The book is packed with practical tips on how to achieve modularity in common design tools (InDesign, Fireworks, Visio, etc.).

What I liked about the book:
- It's down to earth, very well structured.
- The fundamental approach is very inspiring: how to cut a design into pieces, document the pieces, search for reusable elements and define those as components.
- Examples and figures are abundant and illustrate the points very well.

What you should be aware of:
- If you're mainly working for on small to mid-sized projects or you're not really decided to go and start creating and sharing component libraries, the detailed process in the 2nd part of the book may be really overkill for you.
... Read more

Product Description

Let's admit it: Things will go wrong online. No matter how carefully you design a site, no matter how much testing you do, customers still encounter problems. So how do you handle these inevitable breakdowns? With defensive design. In this book, the experts at 37signals (whose clients include Microsoft, Qwest, Monster.com, and Clear Channel) will show you how.

Defensive design is like defensive driving brought to the Web. The same way drivers must always be on the lookout for slick roads, reckless drivers, and other dangerous scenarios, site builders must constantly search for trouble spots that cause visitors confusion and frustration. Good site defense can make or break the customer experience.

In these pages, you'll see hundreds of real-world examples from companies like Amazon, Google, and Yahoo that show the right (and wrong) ways to get defensive. You'll learn 40 guidelines to prevent errors and rescue customers if a breakdown occurs. You'll also explore how to evaluate your own site's defensive design and improve it over the long term.

This book is a must read for designers, programmers, copywriters, and any other site decision-makers who want to increase usability and customer satisfaction.

Customer Reviews (39)

Awesome Examples!
All of these guidelines seem so simple to follow and I can see how these would really have a positive impact on customer experience. Every guideline was backed up with examples of websites that were doing things right or wrong. A great read for anyone working with websites!

A must read for every software developer
Software development is much too often considered a technical issue. This book takes the perspective of the user. Software would be much more user friendly if software developer took this kind of information into consideration. It is a real must read for serious software developers.

Indispensable resource
Some reviewers said that the book was too shallow, too wordy and focused on well-known problems. If book content is so obvious, why do we so often forget about it? We, designers, tend to trust our intuition and as a result we make the same mistakes again. So we have to return to this book and use it in every web project that involves user interaction.

I also like the way the problems are described - this must be straightforward if you want to explain them to your developers or clients.

Now (2009) there are a few better books concerning forms (Forms that Work / Web Form Design) but the other elements should still be reviewed with Defensive Design.

It is what it is
This book is basically a comparison of good & bad designs as related to the topics in the subtitle. There is not much depth to any of the examples so it feels like this is the outline of a book that never got finished.

I was looking for something comprehensive enough to allow me to make better informed decisions, even if the book didn't offer an example that is specific to my problem. This book is NOT that.

only for beginers
If you already have some design experience, or use the web a lot in your daily life, or just have common sense you will most likely find this book utterly useless. But even for people who are just starting out in the field, at 236 pages this book can easily be compressed into 37 with one page per "signal."

Here's what specifically bothers me about the content:

1.Wordy.The authors take a simple problem and run with it for pages.How many examples do I really need to understand that limiting text fields to, let say, 200 characters and not letting users know that there is a limit is a bad idea? One? Two?There are 5 examples beating the same dead horse.And this is going on pretty much for every example they have.

2.Clueless.One of the complaints in the book is about an error message that TicketMaster displays when they can't find tickets for you (page 75). Specifically, the message is "We are unable to fulfill your specific request.We may not have the type of tickets you requested or the number of seats together that you are looking for."The authors' beef with this message is "[...] the error message still leaves me scratching my head.If TicketMaster knows the event is sold out, then why not just say so?"Perhaps, they don't say that the event is sold out because it isn't?First, just because TicketMaster is out of tickets doesn't mean there are no more tickets left. TicketMaster usually only gets a percentage of tickets.Second, if I'm looking for cheapest seats and they don't have any left, doesn't mean there aren't more expensive available.Thirdly, if I'm looking for 7 seats in a row and can't find that many available doesn't mean I can't buy them on other combinations.

3. Superficial.When talking about handling 404 "Page not found" errors, the author completely neglects to mention the intricacies of handling these conditions which can have profound effect on your site's SEO.

All-in-all, I'm taking my book back to the store.
... Read more

Product Description
This is the must-have book for designers who want to expand their skills and improve the quality of their designs. Learning CSS technology and continually improving one's design and developer skills is essential for every Web designer in today's marketplace. The goal of Professional Web Design: Techniques and Templates is to educate beginning-to-intermediate Web designers on the various issues involved with Web design through general discussion, case studies, and specific tips and techniques. Using easy-to-understand language and concepts, the book teaches designers and developers how to create professional-quality CSS-based designs. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is explored, giving the reader a strong, basic understanding of how to get sites to rank better in search engines. Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) also is explained, helping the designer create a more efficient site for the users who are already visiting. You'll get the benefit of the author's experience. With more than 15 years of experience as a Web designer for Fortune 500 companies, non-profits, and small businesses alike, Eccher has learned numerous tips and techniques of the trade and discloses them here, saving you time and aggravation by alerting you to potential pitfalls.Amazon.com Review
Clint Eccher has designed professional Web sites for seven years and now makes some of his designs available as templates through his own site (A5design.com) and with his new book, Professional Web Design. You get 50 templates (each of which features home and second-level pages) and careful instructions on how to adapt them for your own use. Along the way, Eccher offers sound advice on good Web design practices; a little bit about HTML, cascading style sheets, and JavaScript; a look at JPEGs and GIFs; and some insight into "comping" (sketching) a site design for the client's approval.

For the most part, however, this book addresses just those aspects of Web design that readers will need to know in order to successfully utilize the templates. These are designed as "mortised" sites; that is, they are built with nested tables and sliced GIF/JPEG combinations, the kind of design made easy with the advent of Adobe's ImageReady and Macromedia's Fireworks. Although this is not a how-to about using those applications or about creating such sites from scratch, Eccher does help readers learn how to debug and otherwise adjust the source code in order to successfully implement the designs. In addition to trial versions of the major applications, the CD-ROM also contains the JavaScript Cookbook and HTML/CSS Developer's Resource Guide, which provide lots of cut-and-paste source code for all kinds of features (games, sounds, pop-up messages) that can be added to a Web page.

One caveat: despite the templates, this book is too detailed for beginners. For those with some experience, and especially for developers who lack design skills and like the A5design style, this book amounts to an intensive Clint Eccher brain-picking seminar. He offers a few tricks that can be applied to any design (like his tips on how to drastically reduce file sizes) and some good general advice (for example, "Do not get attached to the work" because a client may just decide against it). --Angelynn Grant ... Read more

Customer Reviews (36)

Professional Web Design
If you have a basic understanding of html and css this book is a valuable tool for examples of how to create fast loading, eye catching and professional looking websites.

Threw it away after ten minutes
Calling this book "professional" in any sense of the word is ridiculous.It is, number one, outdated, with a lot of material on structuring a web page using tables, which has been deprecated for years.I mean, there are people who still do it, but why would anyone teach it?It is outdated and makes for poor websites with a lot of unnecessary overhead.

The templates are neither useful in the structural sense nor are they artistically adequate.I would not publish a webpage using any of them -- the design skill level is simply below the level I consider acceptable.

I spent a bunch of money on this thing and was excited when it arrived.After browsing it for ten or fifteen minutes, I threw it on the floor in disgust.A complete waste of money.You can really learn web design much better by simply searching for tutorials on the internet, and you can get better templates online for free.Or once you learn how to use HTML and CSS correctly (which this book will not teach you) you can make your own structural templates better than the ones in the book.

As far as the design aspect -- well, pure design has such a heavy artistic element to it, it is difficult to teach.But just looking at the hundreds of not-particularly-attractive templates in this book, you can be assured that you aren't going to learn anything startling or "professional" about web design.

An absolute waste of money.I would not recommend this book to anyone.

Excellent reference for someone just starting to use CSS
This is the first book I read on web design techniques using CSS. The book does what the title promises, and provides a wealth of excellent templates and approaches to design layouts using CSS and XHTML (where appropriate).

Chapter 16 in particular proved extremely useful. The author details real life situations where the knowledge presented in the previous chapters can be applied.

Definitely a book I'll be referring to frequently.

Bad designs and templates
I purchased this book because I thought the templates could be useful. I already have a pile of books on CSS and Web Development, but the templates made this book stick out.

The templates and designs that come with the CD are laughably bad. I can not imagine a single instance where a professional would ever consider using a template from this book.
If you dig really hard through the templates (several hundred) you might find a couple that could be useful. Other than that they are defintely good for a chuckle.

Not for everyone
The title is misleading; it is not a professional approach to web page design because it relies on tables for page style. Using tables for design was deprecated by W3C when they developed CSS. A professional, "web standards" page uses CSS for layout and design. Tables are used to make TABLES.

This style of design makes it VERY difficult to change or modify a web page later. This is not something professional designers are willing to accept. Tables are easy to learn and this style of web page design is suitable for someone (with some knowledge of HTML) who wants to make their own site.

It will help you make a good looking site, save you money and get you up and running faster than you could otherwise. But there is a price to pay for that. It will give you grief if you decide to make significant design changes or want to hire someone to change it for you (they will charge you an arm and a leg to do it).

If you might want to design sites for extra money later on, you must make a serious effort to learn CSS. This is not an easy task but has significant rewards.

Over ten years ago, W3C realized that HTML had serious limitations and they developed CSS to solve the problem. CSS divides web page design into two parts. HTML deals with the content (the writing, images and stuff like that). CSS deals with design and style (what the stuff looks like, where it goes on the page, color and things like that).

The two are VERY different and when you use TABLES as a substitute for CSS, you are creating major problems for those who follow in your footsteps (including you). I hope this makes things clear and helps you decide if this book is for you.

One last thing. There are a huge number of resources, free, on the web to help learn CSS web page design. Just do a search for 'web page css: (design - tutorials - templates). Do a search and learn a little about CSS design to see what you want to do before you decide to buy this. Good luck. Designing web sites is fun, if you have gobs of patience and a very low frustration level. ... Read more