Web Design: A Beginner's Guide (Beginner's Guides (Osborne)) [Paperback]

Wendy Willard (Author), Willard (Author)

Book Description

Series: Beginner's Guides (Osborne) | Publication Date: June 2001

Serves as a comprehensive introduction to effective website design, while giving the reader a thorough understanding of how to build useful Web pages/sites that reach and meet the needs of their target audience.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

When I began work on this book, I performed a search of Amazon.com for the phrase "Web Design." I found books on everything from HTML to XML, and from Web graphics to Web usability. What is the beginning reader supposed to think? Where should she begin in this huge list of possibilities? With a "beginner's guide", of course.

This book covers a lot of ground in a short amount of time. It is an excellent way to discover everything from HTML to XML and from Web graphics to Web usability -- ALL of which are important to Web design -- without having to read a million different books. The book covers all these topics in a succinct fashion, moving you from the beginning to end while you work on a real-world project.

With that said, this is neither "the second book in a series" or a series in itself. Web Design: A Beginner's Guide is an introduction into all of the facets of the extensive topic of Web Design.

So you don't have to read other books on the topic before reading this one, but you can expect to read other books after this one. The idea is that this book might help you determine where you'd like to focus your efforts in Web design and development.

If you're looking for a well-rounded book to aid in your discovery of this medium and get you started quickly on the right track, this is it.

About the Author

Wendy Willard (Dresden, ME) author of HTML: A Beginner's Guide, is founder and owner of WILLARDESIGNS, a firm specialising in creating cutting-edge Web-based sites for businesses of all sizes and varieties. Wendy holds a degree in Illustration from Art Centre College of Design in Pasadena, California. She teaches and lectures on Web design & development throughout the U.S. and Europe.

Product Details

• Paperback: 555 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies (June 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0072133902
• ISBN-13: 978-0072133905
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #705,502 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am an accomplished professional with over 15 years experience in all aspects of design. I'm a published author on topics such as HTML, CSS, Web Design and Photoshop, and have copy edited several other books as well. I'm a seasoned project manager, having led small creative teams at multiple locations.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for the Ground-level Beginner, July 24, 2001

By 

"micpet" (Boise, ID USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Web Design: A Beginner's Guide (Beginner's Guides (Osborne)) (Paperback)

I am a graphic designer with firm roots in print design--getting into design for the Web has been a daunting prospect. This book is incredibly easy to understand and perfect for an absolute beginner like myself. It provides an excellent jumping-off point into more advanced design and production strategies, even if you are using a WYSIWYG Web page editor. I have been told time and again that even while using a graphical editor like Adobe's GoLive, it is still important to know basic HTML coding--this book even makes HTML approachable! I would recommend it to anyone who is brand new to Web design.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very good book for a first course in Web design, December 28, 2002

By 

"jorrrge" (Kennesaw, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Web Design: A Beginner's Guide (Beginner's Guides (Osborne)) (Paperback)

I taught a Web design course in which I used both of Wendy Willard's books (Web Design: A Beginner's Guide and HTML: A Beginner's Guide). There is overlap, of course, but the pair worked quite well as a tandem. In fact, the students gave me a lot of positive feedback on the books. We focused on the Web Design book and used the HTML book primarily as a reference.

Web Design is a very straightforward presentation of design fundamentals. It was refreshing to find in the book so many bits of design advice that I have pedaled. Moreover, the writing is lively and concise.

The publisher makes available a CD-ROM that contains PowerPoint lectures, a test bank, and an instructor's manual. I can't comment on the test bank -- I seldom use them -- but I found the lectures to be useful as starting points for my own in-class presentations.

The book would be improved by more depth in topics such as navigation, information architecture, and usability. Navigation is mentioned but probably warrants its own chapter in a Web design book.

In sum, this is a very good book for a first course in Web design.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In a Word -- Excellent, June 5, 2001

By 

John Thompson (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Web Design: A Beginner's Guide (Beginner's Guides (Osborne)) (Paperback)

I bought this author's first book, HTML: A Beginner's Guide, and I loved it. Hence, when I saw this book on Amazon, I preordered it. In short, it is excellent. This author really understands her subject matter, and she has a knack for conveying complex concepts in terms that are easy to understand. If you want to learn about the intricacies of Web Design, I highly recommend this book.