Product Description

Simply the best introduction to all aspects of the design and development of successful Web sites.

As the World Wide Web has matured, the need for high quality education in all aspects of Web design has become widely acknowledged. This book is a core text for undergraduate and masters courses that provides a complete introduction to every aspect of the building of Web pages and Web sites. A complete understanding of the basics of all aspects of Web design is essential to the development of good practice.

Starting from a review of Web experiences, the text provides a deep and thorough introduction to Web technology, markup, stylesheets, Web graphics, Web animation and embedded video, client–side scripting, Web applications, usability, accessibility, page design and site design. At all times, the focus remains on good practice, underpinned by sound principles, in the context of the real World Wide Web. Full coverage of the essential technologies is provided: HTTP, XHTML, CSS, Javascript and the DOM, and the use of Web Standards is emphasized throughout as an essential part of the authors′ forward–looking approach. Some elementary programming knowledge is required for use of this text.

Suitable for course use or self–study, this comprehensive introduction represents a complete overview of the practice of Web design, providing clear summaries and a wealth of exercises and short practical assignments, as well as a valuable survey of the most popular software tools used in Web design. An extensive glossary and a wide rage of other supplementary material are provided on the supporting Web site.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #104716 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 692 pages

From the Back Cover
Simply the best introduction to all aspects of the design and development of successful Web sites.

As the World Wide Web has matured, the need for high quality education in all aspects of Web design has become widely acknowledged. This book is a core text for undergraduate and masters courses that provides a complete introduction to every aspect of the building of Web pages and Web sites. A complete understanding of the basics of all aspects of Web design is essential to the development of good practice.

Starting from a review of Web experiences, the text provides a deep and thorough introduction to Web technology, markup, stylesheets, Web graphics, Web animation and embedded video, client–side scripting, Web applications, usability, accessibility, page design and site design. At all times, the focus remains on good practice, underpinned by sound principles, in the context of the real World Wide Web. Full coverage of the essential technologies is provided: HTTP, XHTML, CSS, Javascript and the DOM, and the use of Web Standards is emphasized throughout as an essential part of the authors′ forward–looking approach. Some elementary programming knowledge is required for use of this text.

Suitable for course use or self–study, this comprehensive introduction represents a complete overview of the practice of Web design, providing clear summaries and a wealth of exercises and short practical assignments, as well as a valuable survey of the most popular software tools used in Web design. An extensive glossary and a wide rage of other supplementary material are provided on the supporting Web site.

Also by Nigel and Jenny Chapman: Digital Multimedia, 2e (0–470–85890–7) is a core text for undergraduate and masters courses in multimedia. It combines a broad and deep account of technology with an inside understanding of multimedia content and its practical applications. Coverage begins with the nature of multimedia, including the cultural and social context, before examining hardware and software requirements for its creation and delivery. There are chapters devoted to each media type, detailing how it is represented in digital form and what demands are placed on computer systems. Later chapters cover design principles and accessibility, XML and its applications to multimedia, creating interaction through scripting and networking media. There are end–of–chapter exercises as well as detailed suggestions for substantial projects.

About the Author
Nigel Chapman is a well–known author of books on new media technologies and programming languages. Nigel taught Computer Science at University College London until he became a freelance writer, researcher and consultant.

Jenny Chapman is an award–winning new media, animation and video artist, and a Lecturer in new media animation at Edinburgh College of Art.

Customer Reviews

Thorough and stylish, definitely warrants the "complete" in the title
This is a readable and carefully worded presentation of all aspects of web design, and it looks very good too. Web design principles are nicely encapsulated as "Get it right. Make it nice". I like that.

A lot of the book shows ways to get it right, and of necessity is quite technical (e.g. the chapters on Stylesheets, DOM scripting and Web applications), but "make it nice" is given great importance throughout, with excellent chapters on page design and site design. The book emphasizes the importance of visual design and page layout and, fittingly, is itself well laid out and beautifully illustrated.

I wish all web designers could read and take notice of the recommendations in the chapter on accessibility and also offer style switching to give users better control of presentation to suit their needs.

The text contains lots of helpful asides on technical details or topics like "Browser quirks" and "Emerging technology" (looking ahead to XHTML 2.0 and SMIL for example) and "Key point" summaries after each chapter.

Although the book doesn't claim to cover every detail of, for example, CSS or scripting with Javascript and PHP, it shows enough to explain most syntax and functionality, by way of many examples, always stressing the importance of proper testing and error handling.

"Introduction" it may be, but I suspect that most professionals could learn a lot from this book too.