Creating Killer Web Sites (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

David Siegel's classic guide to good taste in Web design has been completely overhauled in this second edition. Every chapter has been reworked, repurposed, and rewritten with over 100 new pages and 150 new illustrations, new information on 4.0 browser design, and a comprehensive guide to Style Sheet implementations for both Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer. Those who enjoyed Creating Killer Web Sites the first time around will doubtlessly benefit from this new edition, which is meant as a continuation of the first book rather than a simple update. At the same time, anyone who has never read the first edition will be able to pick up this new edition without having missed a beat. Siegel's accompanying Web site (www.killersites.com) contains supplemental information as well as chapters from the first edition that didn't make the 2.0 cut.

More of a style guide than an HTML guide, Creating Killer Web Sites is concerned with the building of Third-Generation sites, Web sites that are conceived by design and not by technological ability. Siegel and his helpers at Studio Verso overview a wide variety of topics, including a history of browsers, how to use specific HTML tags, how to select software tools, and advice on pure aesthetic design. Like the first edition, the second edition of the book contains an attractive design, a graphic on every page, and screen shots of successful Web pages that will set any designer's wheels in motion.

There is a great deal of information to absorb here and whether you agree with all, some, or none of the advice, you'll still be left with plenty to think about. If you're brand new to Web site creation, this is an excellent introduction to the ideas involved with site design. However, because Creating Killer Web Sites is not a tutorial or HTML reference, you will need to supplement it with one.

Review

Creating Killer Web Sites is to the Net what The Joy of Cooking is to food. Don't make a Web site without this book! -- Roger Black, president, The Interactive Bureau --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Hayden; 2 edition (September 18, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568304331
• ISBN-13: 978-1568304335
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (186 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #658,105 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is a historically important book for web design, July 28, 2000

By	Makiko Itoh "maki to all" (Earth) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If in about 5-10 years, someone chose to write a book about the development of web design, this book would rank at or near the top. This is probably the book that truly unleashed the so-called second-generation concept of web design on the world, for better or worse. Do you want to know about how to use tables for layouts, use transparent 1-pixel GIFs as spacers or "shims" to keep everything from getting wobbly, and how to use GIF-text images in conjunction with actual text to make your page look just the way you, the designer, want it to? All those techniques are explained here in great detail, with lots of examples, plus you can look at the companion website for source code.

Of course this second edition came out in 1997 - and now it's 2000, and many of the techniques he explains are outdated. Current-day standards advocates, usability experts and the like deplore the kinds of methods described here. Yet, probably most of the "designed" websites out there that are not using just the latest techniques or the the other extreme - just using plain-looking text layouts - are using at least a few of the techniques detailed here. So if you are new to HTML and web design, and you want to know how to make your pages look like much of what's on the web right now, this book is a must. "HTML Magic", which covers the much of the same material, is also recommended.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Woefully Wrong Headed, July 29, 1999

By	Jason Voegele (Dublin, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews

There is really only one criterion for judging a successful Web site: do visitors ever come back? Having taken one look at killersites.com, I found absolute zero interesting content and will never grace Mr. Siegel's server logs again. What more is there to see? You get your fancy graphics on your way down the "entry-tunnel", you think to yourself, "My, what a pretty picture, but I came here to learn about Web site design...where's the content?"

Problem is, Mr. Siegel prefers style over substance and before you find anything useful, you've become so frustrated waiting for the stupid flashing gifs and JavaScript to download and render that you bail out without even _THINKING_ about exiting through the "exit tunnel."

Obviously, David Siegel has no idea what the Web is all about. Allow me to quote from someone who DOES know what the Web can accomplish:

"Start by putting yourself in your users' shoes. Why are they coming to your site? If you look at some Web sites, you'd presume that the answer is "User is extremely bored and wishes to stare at a blank screen for several minutes while a flashing icon loads, then stare at the flashing icon for a few more minutes." Academic computer scientists refer to this process of fitting software systems to people as "user modeling."

-- Philip Greenspun, Philip and Alex's Guide to Web Publishing. I have nothing against "pretty" or "fancy" sites, but think for a moment the sites that keep you coming back. amazon.com is a perfect example: slim on graphics, low-tech front-end, no "entry" or "exit" tunnels leading YOU around the nose as if you couldn't think without the help of the ever-so-knowledgeable graphic designer. Instead, it's filled with tons of dynamic content, a community of users sharing their thoughts and ideas. THIS is what the Web is all about, not animated gifs and framesets.

For anyone building REAL Web sites rather than "killer" Web sites, do yourself a favor and visit http://photo.net/wtr/ to learn what it takes (and trust me, it's much more than pretty pictures).

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Form over function, January 22, 2000

By	Francis A Lattanzio (Glastonbury, Connecticut USA) - See all my reviews

I know it's a trite title for a review, but that cliche sums up what Siegel has to say about web pages. I'm the first to admit that Siegel definitely knows how to create visually stunning webpages. Unfortunately, the web is more about information than aesthetics, and in this respect the book fails: Read any book on website usability, or information architecture in general, and you'll see that Siegel's techniques will hurt rather than improve your website. Siegel's obsession with white space is particularly unhealthy. Certainly, white space will beautify your site - your form - but your site will become more difficult to use and harder to navigate. If you're an website artist, this book is for you. But for the rest of the world in the business of creating practical, functional websites, read with caution.