Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: ALL HANDS-ON !!!!
Comment: It's been such a long time since I did anything with HTML and I needed a no nonsense approach to brushing up on it. Well, this book is right on target for me. The hands-on method of teaching in this book is so great that it feels like you are taking a course on HTML. The format is like a work book so you are always working with the material as you learn it. This author does not dumb it down to make you feel like if the material is for "Dummies" either. There are a few puns in there to maintain levity but the author is always on task.
So far I am in Chapter 4 and have learned quite a few fundamental techniques in CSS that I will use on my work center intranet. I definitely recommend this book to get the basics of HTML and as a bonus being taught to do things the right way to meet standards, what a concept! I tell you if the rest of the Sitepoint books are like this one, then they have just earned themselves a loyal customer!!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Outstanding book for beginners
Comment: I attempted to learn web page development self study beginning with a couple of " for dummies " books. They were interesting - and had some value - but the information within these books were not as well organized to learn from. There was also important issues for beginners in web page development that were left out of the book. Things like selecting a website - and loading files etc. I had gotten to the point where I created a very basic site with my text editor - but when I went to upload it to a web host - I could get the pages uploaded / but I could not figure out where to put things - how exactly everythign works.
I'm only on page 80 - but so far I've learned some basic HTML - inline style - Embedded style elements - and External Style sheets - with brief projects using each of these structures. It's very hands on and basic to learn so far, I'm quite satisfied with the purchase.
I don't expect it will teach all teh tricks of the trades and how to work with each and every element throughout the book - but it sets you up with the basic framerwork of knowledge and structure of which to build upon and the hands on approach is very user friendly for learning markup.
I'd recommend this to anyone interested in learning web page markup and CSS from scratch.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Love this book!
Comment: I had already built a website using a "user-friendly" site builder offered by the hosting service. However, it was almost impossible to make changes to the site and the markup created by the program was bloated and often contained errors. So when I bought this book I was desperate. Within two days I had completely re-done the markup for the site so that it's now compliant with all current standards.
The book lays out in simple terms, with great examples, exactly how to use CSS and XHTML to design a website that meets your needs. It's easy to read, offers good tips, and you can customize the look of your site by simply playing with the examples to see how they appear on a page and then adapting the markup. Using a style sheet, as illustrated in the book, makes it VERY easy to change the look of all pages in a site with one or two alterations in markup.
I recommend this book highly for anyone who knows little or a moderate amount about using CSS and XHTML.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great introduction to XHTML and CSS
Comment: I loved this book, and I'm a pretty experienced web designer. There are a lot of other reviews saying how great it is, so I thought I'd add a few comments not mentioned. First, this book is really intended for people who are starting from the ground up. As such, it only describes strict XHTML, so if you're going to be working on an existing site, you're not going to learn about a lot of what is out there, like frames and using tables for positioning elements on the page. It describes an elegant design philosophy that will get beginners on the right track. It also covers, in just enough detail, finding a web-hosting site, getting a domain, using FTP, etc. Second, as others have mentioned, it is not a reference manual. Third, it assumes the web tool you are going to use is Notepad, or a similar editor. Personally, I think that's the best way to go, but it's good to know before you buy the book. In other words, you are going to be writing XHTML and CSS to build your pages, not using some fancy tool. Lastly, where I think the book really shines is in the sections describing how to add extras to your web site, like search, blogs, and getting web statistics. It does all this only describing free utilities.
As I read this review, I've actually come to appreciate the book better. I can think of no other book that takes a complete novice from almost nothing to a complete, rather sophisticated web site that meets CSS and XHTML strict standards and even has a few bells and whistles, all in about 400 pages. There's even a bit of humor, and the author has a relaxed easy-going, re-assuring without pandering tone.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Step-by-Step Book
Comment: I am about halfway through this book, building the sample website it teaches you. I am a fairly sophisticated computer end-user, but have never tried any kind of website design before.
As advertised, this book starts with the assumption that you know nothing about HTML. It does not require you to have any fancy software. I have DreamWeaver, but I'm working in Notepad because that's what's on my laptop, and it's going just fine.
The approach the book takes is step by step from the very first line of code. It explains "why" you build a certain way, not just "how" to do it. There are also many examples beyond the sample website that is the book's main focus, so you learn more than just how to build a website that mirrors the one in the book. This will be a good reference book, not just a one-time read.
Good supporting website with downloadable code, errata (there aren't very many at all), and a nice forum. Author's style is pleasant and straightforward with a few corny jokes to laugh at along the way.
I can see by flipping forward to the end of the book that the sample site will be both nice looking and very functional with tables, response forms, images, radio buttons, etc. It will also be easy to maintain due to the proper coding practices taught here. This is just what I need both to create a nicer "home" website, and get started on one for my business.
Awesome product, definitely worth the price. Buy it.
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