HTML for Dummies (Paperback)

by Ed Tittel (Author), Stephen J. James (Author) "Hold your horses..." (more)
Key Phrases: following markup tags, image map version, intradocument linking, Internet Explorer, World Wide Web, Books Worldwide (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The entire "For Dummies" series is no insult -- these are consistently some of the best introductions to their topics available. For beginners, even using an HTML editor is daunting. In clear language and with a dose of humor at every turn, the authors lead you through creating a web page, making it shine and taming some of the trickier aspects of web pages like CGI programming. The cartoons sprinkled throughout the book are marvelous. Don't miss the "Top Ten HTML Dos and Don'ts" or "Ten Design Desiderata." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
New Web authoring tools such as Claris Home Page, Microsoft FrontPage, and Adobe PageMill almost take care of all the HTML markup needed to build great-looking Web pages. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, the spirit of innovation rages on at companies like Netscape and Microsoft -- and stays well-ahead of even the best Web authoring tools. That's why it pays to have the completely updated HTML For Dummies, 3rd Edition, on hand so that you peer under the hood of your Web pages to add Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer enhancements, JavaScript, ActiveX, and Java applets that heighten the functionality and style of your whole Web site. Plus, Web pros Ed Tittel and Steven N. James share their savvy advice on when and when not to use nonstandard HTML tags, including how to accommodate visitors using early, less capable browsers, and how to organize a large Web site so that it makes sense to you and your visitors. Best of all, HTML For Dummies, Third Edition, includes a bonus disk containing HTML templates, software, and other terrific resources to help you build great Web pages fast.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 33 edition (June 23, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076450214X
• ISBN-13: 978-0764502149
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #101,168 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

82 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you want to program static web pages, this is your guide., December 1, 2000

By	trojanpony (Shelton, CT USA) - See all my reviews

This was the first web design-related book I ever bought. I now own a fairly successful web design company and my collection has expanded to about 30 books. My very first exposure to HTML was through a bunch of online tutorials from all over the place where I learned very basic HTML. I needed to buy a book for two reasons: 1) I wanted to learn more advanced features like tables, frames and forms and 2) I was sick of running all over the web to find everything I wanted, I needed one single resource. Well, this book certainly did the trick.

Tittle and James do a great job at first bringing the reader up to speed on the internet which, as we all know, is the environment of HTML pages. Then they went into an introduction of HTML basics which is the part I skipped because, as I said before, I had already learned that stuff online. Then it was on to the most valuable section of the book: a complete list of the "HTML tag team" and a complete listing of the entire ISO-Latin-1 character set. You have no idea how many times I refer back to these sections every day. They are worth the $20 alone. Then they covered the advanced topics such as tables, frames and forms and grouped them all together in the same general area of the book which was convenient because those were the main topics I set out looking for. Towards the end, they give some very useful tips on coding and design that will help in any project you do.

The only 2 other books on HTML that are worth your money are HTML Goodies by Joe Burns and HTML 4: A Visual Quickstart Guide by Elizabeth Castro. I would reccomend any and all of these three as they all have their own strong and weak points. I would say that between the two aforementioned, HTML Goodies would compliment this Dummies book the best because it discusses topics that I missed in the Dummies book. For example, Goodies does an excellent job at explaining how CGI works in HTML while Dummies briefly touches on it and then refers you to their CD. This, along with other relevant issues, were either missing from the Dummies book or only on the CD. There were many other topics as well that I looked up in the index only to find out that they were on the CD which is much more of a hassle than flipping the pages of a book. Other than that, HTML for Dummies was a great tutorial and as I said before, the HTML tag listing and character set listings are indispensable and the best I have ever seen. For a well-rounded easy-to-read basic tutorial that also serves as a helpful reference, look no further.

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great starting point, October 13, 2000

By	mourfeous (Texas) - See all my reviews

I am a seasoned web developer and I cut my teeth on this book years ago. It is a perfect way to go from knowing nothing to knowing enough to get a basic site up and running. The title says for DUMMIES, thus it assumes you know virtually NOTHING about HTML. Most people who didn't like this book already knew about HTML.

I have been reading tech/web books for years now and its safe to say that this is a great place to begin and to use as a reference until you are ready to get into more complex designing and development.

I started reading this book and within eight hours I had my first web page up for the world to see. There is no greater feeling than publishing for the first time! Enjoy the journey!

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars So you want an SUPERIOR beginner's HTML book ?, February 6, 1999

By A Customer

I was given this book as a gift and promptly returned it. To but it bluntly, this book is subpar with respect to its competition. In its place I purchased Elizabeth Castro's "HTML For The World Wide Web 4". Castro's book is an excellent reference and a great value. Then I came across Joe Burns' "HTML Goodies" and my search ended for a SUPERIOR beginner's book on HTML. Burn's book is a peerless product in terms of content, presentation, value and his uncanny ability to clearly communicate. Don't be fooled by that slick yellow/black cover. Seek out Burns' and Castro's books and at $35.00 for the PAIR you'll be happy, hapy, happy.