Customer Reviews

CSS Web Site Design Hands on Training

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Although there is alot to like about this book, there is a fatal flaw that needs to be considered by anybody thinking about buying it. Apparently the author wrote and tested the book entirely on a Mac, and it appears that the css was never tested under IE6/7 on Windows. Many variations of a single page are used throughout the book and unfortunately 1 small piece of the css used for the masthead and navigation menu simply does NOT work in IE6/7. The problem is some kind of a quirk in Internet Explorer because the css works correctly in Firefox and presumably on a Mac. Because the same page is used in several chapters the problem also ripples through several chapters. The problem is manifested whenever you try to match what you were instructed to do against the screen shot and what happens is that the navigational menu disapears - so your screen frequently doesn't look like the snapshot in the book. I have submitted the problem to the publisher but because it affects so many parts of the book, the fix may take some time.

So if you are running Windows and are willing to work through the book using only Firefox then carry on because I think the material is worth it. And maybe the real value to the book is to challenge you and develop your skills such that you can figure out the workaround. But if you want it all clean and spelled out for you can only be patient.

Later... after the first pass at the review. I can't seem to change the 2 stars to 4 stars which I would if I could. I found the answer to the Fatal Flaw. To give credit where credit is due, the pointer to the answer comes from "CSS The Missing Manual" by David Sawyer McFarland.

In several internal as well as external stylesheets and in multiple chapters, you are either instructed to enter "#masthead {background: #ABD240;}" - not including the quotes, or it is already in the style sheet. What you need to enter is "#masthead {background: #ABD240; line-height: 1.1;}" or change the already existing entry - again not including the quotes. This doesn't change anything else on the screen but apparently fixes this IE6/7 idiosyncracy. With all this said, I recommend that you get this book.

It's all fine and dandy that Eric Meyers knows his stuff. This book will teach you CSS in Fire Fox, no doubt about it. But if you are coding to develop websites for IE, you're going to want to toss this book out the window by the time you get to chapters 6 and 7.

How could the publisher put out a book without testing this cross platform and without previewing it in IE6? That's asinine at best! At the very least put out a website as a follow-up to answer questions brought to your attention by your readers.

Example 1: How do you make the negative margins work in IE6 as discussed in exercise 4 of chapter 7?

Example 2: Why is the date aligned to the left in IE6 as discussed in exercise 4 of chapter 7?

Example 3: Why is the text in the footer not aligned perfectly in IE6 as discussed in exercise 4 of chapter 7?

Test your own product out again, Peach Pit Press. You've written a book without testing the product in Internet Explorer and that is just downright negligent at best.

What a shame too as this instructional manual is otherwise worthy of 4 stars.

This book is a real hand-holder, slowly leading you through the world of separating form from content. The author explains how to use CSS to control the appearance and layout of your pages, and why some choices are better than others. If you've felt challenged in your past attempts to learn CSS, this book might just be the breakthrough you've been looking for. As well as the best guide for self-instruction I've seen yet, "CSS Web Site Design Hands-On Training" would make an excellent textbook for anyone teaching CSS.

I found CSS Web Site Design refreshing and full of tips and techniques for using css in web design. It is also an excellent review of basic techniques for experienced web designers. His writing style is personable and easy to follow. His processes for different situations were thought out and very systematic. An excellent beginning book. This would be a fantastic book for a beginning web design class. As an experienced web developer I valued the content. It was an excellent review.

What is needed is a few more chapters at the end covering:
1. various browser hacks
2. IE6/7
3. I would have prefered more fixed width sections.
4. a few extended (from scratch projects) similar to his other project based books.

Hopefully there will be a volume 2.

I'm am very disappointed that the authors have not provided fixes to the CSS that is in this book. How can someone be teaching a book on CSS and that CSS not work in the most widely used browser, IE? I prefer Firefox myself but but I know any CSS layout I create will have to work in IE, no matter what my preferences. So how can I trust this book to teach me CSS that works for designing web layouts? I see that Eric Meyer has other products for CSS layout design but I would never consider buying one due to my experience with this book. I did enjoy the writing style and clarity of this book but I still have a lingering sense of distrust.

Help us learn CSS that works with the realities of dealing with browser capabilities!!!

I have greatly benefited from other Hands On training books on Flash, so I bought this one eagerly. However, when I got it I realized it was really for beginners and not worth tne price for me, so I returned it. This was not really clear in the description.

But if YOU are a beginner, this might be a great book for you--the H.O.T. series is the only one that helped me to learn Flash after many other attempts. Lynda Weinman's teaching approach is really good.

If you are starting out with CSS or know bits and pieces, then this a great book for you. Like working in the real world, the most valuable experience comes from actually doing the work, which is why I suggest using "Hands On Training." Having all the files at your fingertips and being able to apply the knowledge in the book is the best way to learn. This book is so simple to read and can be completed in a short time. It is written for beginner - intermediates and I'd say it is a little more for the beginner, but definitely fits this category. As I have read elsewhere, it would have been nice to work on multiple projects and theories, but you can't learn everything in one book anyways, right?

This book is a good way to learn CSS. The book is based on progressive lessons as opposed to just showing you the code for different techniques. Over the course of the book the goal is to keep working on one sample webpage and the idea is to follow along on your computer with included files on the CD.

I ended up just reading through the book without doing the lessons, and just focusing on what the new material did, as opposed to worrying about the sample page. I didn't really like the lesson style, but after reading the book I feel very comfortable in CSS so the end justifies the means. If you don't know anything about CSS, read this book.

I found this book to be a great at providing a structured hands on experience through different features of CSS. I did all the exercises in the book on windows with firefox and they worked quite well. I did not try the exercise with other browsers. I was very happy that the author did not spend a lot of time talking about all the differences between browsers. Rather the author kept the discussion focused on communicating the most essential features of CSS, through the examples. I found the videos that came with the book to be helpful, and they complemented the text very well. The book does not spend a lot time developing the theory and all the details behind CSS, so I frequently found myself searching for more info on the net. The great thing about the book is the step by step hand holding nature. This book by itself is not enough to master CSS but it provides an excellent start, you will need to pick up some other CSS titles to complement this book.

I'm new to CSS/XHTML though I've read "Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML" Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML (Head First) as well as "HTML, XHTML, and CSS; Sixth Edition" HTML, XHTML, and CSS, Sixth Edition (Visual Quickstart Guide).

In this book I really didn't learn much (though I know it is designed for someone who knows very little) and I didn't really connect with Eric's writing style.

If you are looking for an excellent first book, then I'd highly recommend the Head First book as it was very informative and fun to read. It kept my hopes high as I try to learn and provided lots of examples.