Integrated HTML and CSS: A Smarter, Faster Way to Learn [Paperback]

Virginia DeBolt (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0782143784 | ISBN-13: 978-0782143782 | Publication Date: January 21, 2005

Almost all web designers use Cascading Sheets to control the presentation of the websites they construct out of HTML. Why learn one and then the other when you can just as easily—and much more effectively—learn both at the same time? This book's integrated approach speeds your progress and leaves you with a stronger, more cohesive set of skills. Inside, you'll learn about:

• Writing well-structured HTML for use by any web-capable device
• Designing page layouts using CSS
• Controlling fonts, colors, backgrounds, borders, and margins
• Using lists to create attractive, button-like menus
• Using images as backgrounds, links, page content, and decoration
• Creating and styling forms
• Personalizing your weblog
• Understanding and applying design and usability principles
• Publishing and testing your pages
• Validating your code
• Making pages accessible to all visitors

Throughout the book you'll find real-world examples of effective CSS-based pages.

Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Almost all web designers use Cascading Style Sheets to control the presentationof the websites they construct out of HTML. Why learn one and then the other whenyou can just as easily—and much more effectively—learn both at thesame time? This book's integrated approach speeds your progress and leaves youwith a stronger, more cohesive set of skills. Inside, you'll learnabout:

• Writing well-structured HTML for use by anyweb-capable device
• Designing page layouts using CSS
• Controlling fonts,colors, backgrounds, borders, and margins
• Using lists to create attractive,button-like menus
• Using images as backgrounds, links, page content, anddecoration
• Creating and styling forms
• Personalizing yourweblog
• Understanding and applying design and usabilityprinciples
• Publishing and testing your pages
• Validating yourcode
• Making pages accessible to all visitors

Throughout the book you'll find real-world examples of effective CSS-based pages.

About the Author

Virginia DeBolt is an author, teacher, and web designer. She's taught HTML and Dreamweaver courses at Austin Community College, written six books, and maintains the Web Teacher blog (www.webteacher.ws).

Product Details

• Paperback: 377 pages
• Publisher: Sybex (January 21, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0782143784
• ISBN-13: 978-0782143782
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,841,849 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am a retired educator who began a second career in high tech in the mid 1990s when I fell head over heels in love with HTML. I taught HTML and Dreamweaver classes at the college level for several years. There I developed some definite ideas about best practices in teaching web design. I am interested in helping learners and teachers develop web design skills that use standards and accessibility.

During my career in education, I wrote several books for teachers that help them teach writing using cooperative learning techniques.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A frustrating learning experience, July 17, 2005

By 

Siri Amrit (Arizona, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Integrated HTML and CSS: A Smarter, Faster Way to Learn (Paperback)

After learning HTML a few years ago I decided to write my new website using CSS. This book was to be my introduction to CSS, and I am sorry I spent my money on it. Learning should be fun, and this book is not. It has good information, but such poor layout and so many errors in it I hardly know where to begin. When I'm learning something new and an exercise doesn't turn out right, it's natural for me to assume I've made a mistake. After literally hours of fighting with the code, I find out it's because of a typo in the book!

For example, in chapter 7, learning how to make links, I couldn't get the links from the "blue" page to link to the "yellow" and "green" pages. I followed her instructions to the letter, reading the same paragraphs over and over. Then, after a frustrating hour, I tried experimenting with other things. Turns out, I needed a "./" before the path to the linked file. The book said to use "../" . One "dot" off, and it nearly drove me crazy! Now, this solution isn't consistent with the code for links on the "index.html" page, and they "should" be the same, but they aren't, and I'm more confused than ever.

If this was the only error, I'd not complain, but the book is simply riddled with sloppiness in the details. The book contains a CD for the reader to use to duplicate the exercises in the book. In chapters 4 and 5, the book uses a page about a bridge to teach formatting, inserting images, etc. The book shows page screenshots where the filler text is in English. The pages from the CD sometimes show the filler text in Latin. The author tells the reader where to insert a bit of code in the English text, but the reader working with the page from the CD is left to figure out where in the Latin text is the same place to insert the code. These are just two errors, and there are so many more.

The book uses small fonts and has a lack of whitespace. There are a lot of tips and notes that, while useful to know, interrupt the instructions and break my train of thought. The screenshots are not aligned well with the text. It would have been helpful to actually have arrows pointing to the parts of the screenshot that the code pertains to, but that's not possible because the screenshots on the pages often pertain to text on other pages.

I recently saw "More Eric Meyers on CSS" and was struck by its' beautiful user-friendly layout. It makes learning almost effortless. It made me regret my purchase of this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well written, December 14, 2005

By 

Dan Y. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Integrated HTML and CSS: A Smarter, Faster Way to Learn (Paperback)

I know that this is written by someone very knowledgeable (at least for HTML and related web technology) right from the beginning when I read the first chapter. I learned HTML 8 years ago and didn't keep up with the latest version for a while; I read about CSS on the web, but never felt like mastering it, until I read this book. She is good in pointing out all the interesting details.

I definitely recommend this book strongly.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A guidebook for the new millenium!, May 31, 2005

By 

S. Levy "NET MAN" (New Mexico) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Integrated HTML and CSS: A Smarter, Faster Way to Learn (Paperback)

Virginia really teaches those of us who were weaned on tables how to approach the way of thinking about CSS based design. An excellent reference, I look at this every day. If it weren't for Virginia's clear thought process and method of thinking, I doubt that my web design business would be anywhere near keeping up with the times.