How to Design Websites (Portfolio

by Alan Pipes

There are books on the nuts and bolts of web design and there are books about website aesthetics, showcasing examples of good design. How to Design Websites contains the essentials of both, addressing the skillsets required to produce websites that are functional and elegant but from a graphic designer's perspective. It demonstrates that you can design a working website in minutes without the need for expensive programs. Chapters include Code, Layout, Text and Typography, and Images and Colour Schemes. Useful tips and tricks panels are included, as well as step-by-step projects such as how to produce a portfolio site that will be of interest to design students and to graduates of all disciplines. Inspirational Trailblazer case studies showcase the best of contemporary designers and their work. Blogs, Facebook, Flickr and HTML5, and new ways of using the web, such as mobile phones and netbooks, are also discussed.

Genres: Design, Website Design

168 pages, Paperback

First published October 10, 2011

Reviews

[Laura Eydmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice introduction to HTML, CSS, and some other bits and pieces like Javascript. There is a step by step section at the end of each chapter to help you put what you have learnt into practice, and there are lots of different examples.

Some of the information in this book was going over old ground for me, but I didn’t feel like it was too simple, I learnt a few new things, and was able to expand on my knowledge. There are also some great resources throughout the book too, as well as some really good illustrations and screen shots.

There is also an extensive bibliography and a list of CSS properties and HTML tags at the back making this a fantastic reference point for building websites.

This book is by no means for an expert, but is handy for reference and has helped me in teaching myself how to code.