Learning Web design / A beginner's guide to HTML, graphics and beyond A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO HTML, GRAPHICS AND BEYOND

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

In Learning Web Design: A Beginner's Guide to HTML, Graphics, and Beyond, author Jennifer Niederst shares the knowledge she's gained from years of web design experience, both as a designer and as a teacher. This book starts from the very beginning--defining the Internet, the Web, browsers, and URLs--so you don't have to have any previous knowledge about how the Web works. Jennifer helps you build the solid foundation in HTML, graphics, and design principles that you need for crafting effective web pages. She also explains the nature of the medium and unpacks the web design process from conceptualization to the final result.Learning Web Design:

Covers the nuts and bolts of basic HTML, with detailed examples that illustrate how to format text, add graphic elements, make links, create tables and frames, and use color on the Web. In addition to a rundown on each HTML tag, there are tips on using three popular authoring programs: Macromedia Dreamweaver, Adobe GoLive, and Microsoft FrontPage. Explains whether to use GIFs or JPEGs for different types of images and includes important tips on optimizing graphics for web delivery. The book also demonstrates step-by-step graphics creation using three popular web graphic tools: Adobe Photoshop, Macromedia Fireworks, and JASC Paint Shop Pro. Offers a tutorial on building usable web sites that covers information design, interface design, and navigation systems. Provides dozens of web design DOs and DON'Ts, to help you make good web design decisions and avoid common beginner traps. Unlike other beginning books, Learning Web Design leaves no holes in your education. It gives you everything you need to create basic web sites, and will prepare you for more advanced web work. If you are interested in web design, this book is the place to start. After finishing it, you'll be ready for the author's bestselling companion reference, Web Design in a Nutshell.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Preface (p. ix)
• Part I Getting Started
• 1. Where Do I Start? (p. 3)
• Am I Too Late? (p. 4)
• Where Do I Start? (p. 4)
• What Do I Need to Learn? (p. 4)
• Do I Need to Learn Java? (p. 7)
• What Do I Need to Buy? (p. 9)
• The Moral of the Story (p. 12)
• 2. How the Web Works (p. 13)
• The Internet Versus the Web (p. 13)
• Serving Up Your Information (p. 14)
• Web Page Addresses (URLs) (p. 14)
• The Anatomy of a Web Page (p. 18)
• Browsers (p. 20)
• Putting It All Together (p. 21)
• 3. Getting Your Pages on the Web (p. 23)
• Putting Files Online (FTP) (p. 23)
• Finding Server Space (p. 32)
• www."YOU".com! (p. 35)
• 4. Why Web Design Isn't Like Print Design (p. 37)
• Designing for the Unknown (p. 37)
• Surviving the Unknown (p. 46)
• Designing Democratically (p. 46)
• Know Your Audience (p. 47)
• Why Web Design Is Cool (p. 48)
• 5. The Web Design Process (p. 49)
• Conceptualize and Research (p. 49)
• Create and Organize Content (p. 51)
• Develop the "Look and Feel" (p. 53)
• Produce Graphics and HTML Documents (p. 54)
• Create a Prototype (p. 54)
• Test, Test, Test! (p. 54)
• Upload and Test Again (p. 55)
• Part II Learning HTML
• 6. Creating a Simple Page (HTML Overview) (p. 59)
• Introducing... the HTML Tag (p. 60)
• Assembling a Web Page (p. 61)
• When Good Pages Go Bad (p. 73)
• HTML Review--Structural Tags (p. 75)
• 7. Formatting Text (p. 77)
• "Typesetting" on the Web (p. 77)
• Building Blocks: Headings and Paragraphs (p. 79)
• Inline Styles (p. 84)
• Text Size, Font, and Color (p. 87)
• Lists (p. 94)
• Aligning Text (p. 100)
• Some Special Characters (p. 106)
• HTML Review--Text Formatting Tags (p. 108)
• 8. Adding Graphic Elements (p. 109)
• Adding Inline Images (p. 109)
• Background Tiles (p. 122)
• Horizontal Rules (p. 125)
• HTML Review--Graphic Element Tags (p. 128)
• 9. Adding Links (p. 129)
• The Anchor Tag Dissected (p. 130)
• Linking to Pages on the Web (p. 131)
• Linking Within Your Own Site (p. 132)
• Linking Within a Page (p. 140)
• Several Links in One Graphic (Imagemaps) (p. 143)
• Mail Links (p. 147)
• HTML Review--Link Tags (p. 148)
• 10. Tables (p. 149)
• How Tables Are Used (p. 150)
• How Tables Work (p. 151)
• Designing Tables (p. 153)
• HTML for Tables (p. 163)
• Where Tables Go Wrong (p. 172)
• Using Tables for Alignment (p. 175)
• HTML Review--Table Tags (p. 178)
• 11. Frames (p. 179)
• How Frames Work (p. 180)
• Setting Up a Frameset Document (p. 182)
• Frame Appearance and Function (p. 189)
• Targeting Frames (p. 193)
• Content for Users Without Frames (p. 196)
• HTML Review--Frame Tags (p. 197)
• 12. Color on the Web (p. 199)
• Specifying Colors by Name (p. 199)
• Specifying Colors by Number (p. 201)
• Elements You Can Color with HTML (p. 206)
• The Web Palette (p. 208)
• Part III Creating Web Graphics
• 13. All About Web Graphics (p. 215)
• File Formats (p. 215)
• Image Resolution (p. 219)
• File Size Matters (p. 222)
• Tools of the Trade (p. 224)
• Image Sources (p. 225)
• Graphics Production Tips (p. 227)
• Web Graphics Highlights (p. 228)
• 14. Creating GIFs (p. 229)
• All About GIFs (p. 229)
• Creating a Simple GIF, Step by Step (p. 233)
• Adding Transparency (p. 238)
• Optimizing GIFs (p. 247)
• Designing with the Web Palette (p. 252)
• Some Things to Remember About GIFs (p. 258)
• 15. Creating JPEGs (p. 259)
• More About JPEGs (p. 260)
• Making JPEGs, Step by Step (p. 263)
• Optimizing JPEGs (p. 269)
• Some Things to Remember About JPEGs (p. 272)
• 16. Animated GIFs (p. 273)
• How They Work (p. 273)
• GIF Animation Tools (p. 274)
• Creating a Simple Animated GIF (p. 274)
• A Cool Shortcut (Tweening) (p. 280)
• Beyond Beginner (p. 282)
• Some Things to Remember about Animated GIFs (p. 282)
• Part IV Form and Function
• 17. Web Design Techniques (p. 285)
• Fancy Bulleted Lists (p. 285)
• Fun with Boxes (p. 288)
• Using 1-Pixel Square Graphics (p. 293)
• Vertical Rules (p. 298)
• Background Tile Tricks (p. 300)
• Multipart (Sliced) Images (p. 302)
• Pop-Up Windows (p. 308)
• A Closing Word on Web Design Techniques (p. 311)
• 18. Building Usable Web Sites (p. 313)
• Focus on the User (p. 313)
• Information Design (p. 314)
• Interface Design (p. 322)
• Navigation Design (p. 331)
• Bringing It All Home (p. 341)
• Building Usable Web Sites: In Review (p. 342)
• 19. Web Design Dos and Don'ts (p. 343)
• General Page Design Advice (p. 343)
• Text Formatting Tips (p. 346)
• Graphics Advice (p. 350)
• Aesthetic Suggestions (p. 353)
• Jen's Personal Pet Peeves (p. 356)
• 20. How'd They Do That: An Introduction to Advanced Techniques (p. 357)
• Forms (p. 357)
• Audio (p. 358)
• Video (p. 360)
• Cascading Style Sheets (p. 362)
• JavaScript (p. 367)
• DHTML (p. 369)
• Flash (p. 371)
• Advanced Techniques in Review (p. 373)
• Glossary (p. 375)
• Index (p. 379)