InterACT with Web Standards: A holistic approach to web design (Voices That Matter) [Paperback]

Erin Anderson (Author), Virginia DeBolt (Author), Derek Featherstone (Author), Lars Gunther (Author), Denise R. Jacobs (Author), Leslie Jensen-Inman (Author), Chris Mills (Author), Christopher Schmitt (Author), Glenda Sims (Author), Aarron Walter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 26, 2010 | ISBN-10: 0321703529 | ISBN-13: 978-0321703521 | Edition: 1

Laying the foundation for a solid understanding of Web design, this book weaves together industry best practices and standards-based design techniques. It is built on practical examples and short exercises crafted to help readers learn quickly and retain information. Starting with the basics this book teaches:

• Internet fundamentals
• Planning, content strategy, and information architecture
• HTML and CSS
• Accessibility

Created by the education luminaries that brought you the revolutionary InterACT curriculum (http://interact.webstandards.org) and the Opera Web Standards Curriculum (http://opera.com/wsc), and the experts that power The Web Standards Project, this book is the definitive guide to learning the basics of web design. Its emphasis on practical and proven techniques make it the go-to guide that every aspiring web professional needs to succeed in their career.

25% of all author proceeds from this book will be donated to The Open Web Education Alliance (http://www.w3.org/2005/Incubator/owea/) to help advance web education around the world.

Product Details

• Paperback: 504 pages
• Publisher: New Riders; 1 edition (May 26, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321703529
• ISBN-13: 978-0321703521
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 0.9 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #512,850 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars 479 pages of Pure Learning Pleasure October 3, 2010

By Ariane Colenbrander

Format:Paperback

Interact With Web Standards - A Holistic Approach to Web Design

This recent discovery is authored by a group of web designers and usability architects in the industry from the US and Western Europe. The book is divided into three sections and starts off with a solid background into web design and its fundamentals. Part Two dives into planning and strategy, while Part Three gets down to the nitty gritty: implementation.

Readers will benefit from the overall perspective of the entire web process and what it takes to get content sourced and brought online. The book's sections on CSS and and coding will get a beginner programmer/web designer up to speed with laying out a site. This book will also aid companies in hiring a web team. Anyone with an interest in learning what goes on behind the scenes will benefit from this read. In addition, many useful web links are provided in the right spots to augment the reading experience while not getting too technical in any given area.

This is one guide that can also serve as a handy reference when talking through a project with clients. They too will benefit by reading the content strategy area, in order to learn how to best approach building a site for the first time - a daunting process for the uninitiated.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Well Worth a Read August 19, 2010

By Leslie Mollner

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I'm an individual who has a fairly decent sized personal library of web design and development books and I consider myself to have intermediate level skills in the area of web design. With these two things said, I give the highest level of praise to this book.

I don't have a personal connection to any of the authors of this publication but I feel fortunate to have met the book's Project Manager, Aarron Walter, at a 2010 web design conference. After our brief meeting, hearing his presentation at the conference, and now reading this work, I can tell you that this is a person who deeply cares about the education of future web professionals. And that caring shines through in the book. The multiple individuals who contributed chapters to this publication also show concern for web education as they guide readers through web design's best practices and standards with an easy and light-hearted style. I did not have any trouble adjusting to each individual author's approach to the various chapter topics. And I think it's also important to mention that this group of authors is donating 25% of their proceeds to the W3C's Open Web Education Alliance, a group formed to promote standards and best practice based education for web professionals.

More specifically, one of the really great things about this publication is that it includes "Try it yourself" sections, that offer exercises to practice the techniques you learn about in the book. There is also a companion website that provides code downloads for the HTML and CSS chapters. I found the Accessibility chapters particularly helpful. The final chapter provides a very good overview of all the topics presented in the book by guiding readers through the process of planning and building an entire website.

Other aspects of the book I found useful include the introduction to Internet fundamentals provided, coverage of the preparation and planning that goes into the development of websites (e.g., information architecture, content strategy), the various help areas highlighting tips and resources for more information, and the inclusion of HTML5 and CSS3 concepts in the appropriate chapters.

Overall, this is an easy-to-follow and well organized book. If you are looking for comprehensive coverage of standards-based design and development, this is the publication for you.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars High Quality Book; content, writing, layout and actual book. June 11, 2010

By L. Cledwyn

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I teach a course on Web Application Development at the graduate school level. As a result I end up buying a dozen or more books in this topic area per semester. This book has moved to the top of my recommended list for experienced and new learners. The book does a great job of breaking down the real aspects of developing websites into meaningful topics, arranged them in a great manner and had real experts on those topics cover them. Let me emphasize the "REAL" aspects, there are a ton of other books that cover, say, PHP object oriented abstractions and other technical aspects of developing websites. This book does the best job of recognizing the reality, the human aspects, of the process and ongoing nature of developing a website. This is done with a high level of professionalism while keeping it real and engaging.

Students starting in on the topic will benefit from a great roadmap of best practices. "Seasoned" developers will benefit from the thoughtful review of best practices to add [back] to your business.