Introduction
Web design has come a long way in just over a decade. The concerns facing anyone working on Web sites are so complex and changing so rapidly that it’s downright overwhelming. From a consumer perspective, Web designs and redesigns can be very expensive. The goal of this book is to provide you with all the top-flight infor¬mation you need to know to get up to speed with the best practices and standards being used by today’s practical but progressive Web sites such as ESPN and Wired News. We all need help to improve workflow, develop rich designs that can be accessed by numerous browsers and alternative devices such as cell phones and PDAs, create sites that meet legal concerns regarding content and accessibility, managing sites for the long term, and improve the financial bottom line by signif¬icantly reducing bandwidth and increasing revenue.
Most likely you are a person who is working on public or private Web sites and is somewhat experienced with HTML and Web graphic design and are interested in ramping up to the next level of expertise. If you’re like me, you want to make your life easier by streamlining the design process and management, and increasing awareness and promotion of the sites you design and develop. Your primary job might not even be that of a Web designer—perhaps you are a scientist, librarian, documentation specialist, promotions specialist, educator, or serving in the armed forces. The people working on Web sites at this point in history come from a very wide range of backgrounds and professions, and we come from all parts of the globe. Some readers will be avid hobbyists, too, using the Web as a means for self-expression via Weblogs, social networks, and special interest groups.
250 HTML and Web Design Secrets looks into the detailed work required to create successful Web sites and provides extremely up-to-date approaches to dealing with an array of challenges that the creation of Web sites presents. Technologies and top¬ics covered include tools, project management, information architecture, usability, content development and management, HTML, XHTML, and CSS, graphics and multimedia for the Web, accessibility, best uses of dynamic content and rich me¬dia, keeping content fresh, improving site ranking and promotions, and managing redesigns.
Using This Book
Focusing on theory, standards, and rigid practices is, in a word, dry. 250 HTML and Web Design Secrets takes a fresh and fun approach, providing insider techniques that will help designers get the information they need.
Instead of teaching individual languages or technologies, the lessons here are broken down into specific “secrets” that will help you immediately improve your current sites; help you build new sites that are visually exciting, extremely portable, and cross-platform compatible; help you manage redesigns; and take your sites from the past into a successful future. Another unique quality of the “Secrets” format of this book is that while it’s written to be read from start to finish, it can also be used as a quick reference when you’re facing a specific problem.
The book consists of 15 chapters broken into three parts: “Tools, Planning, and Content;” “HTML, XHTML, CSS and Accessibility;” and “Designing Sites for Long-Term Success.” There are also three appendices to help you get more re¬sources for Web site service provision, application, and database technologies, and references of a wide range of helpful Web sites, articles, books, and organiza¬tions that can help you constantly challenge and improve your skills beyond the scope of this book.
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