Table of Contents
Web design 101 7
World War 3 and the birth of the Internet 8
What is HTML? 10
Create stylish sites with CSS 12
Introducing Javascript 13
The magic of multimedia 14
Domain names & servers 16
Database-driven websites 17
Should I hire a web designer? 18
Planning your websites 19
Setting a goal for your site 20
Understanding your visitors 21
Check out the competition 22
What to include on your site 23
The 3 click rule 24
4 types of web page 25
Creating a sitemap 26
The essential information 27
Planning your look-and-feel 28
7 steps to a great site 29
Case study: Know what you're aiming for 30
Anatomy of a web page 31
Body copy 32
Headings 33
Hyperlinks 34
Images 35
Lists 36
Tables 37
Forms 38
Header & footer 39
Navigation 40
Search box 41
Pop-up windows 42
Frames & scrolling areas 43
Advertising 44
Writing for the Web 45
Keep it short and simple 46
Grab people with headlines 47
Writing a news story 48
Sell anything in 4 steps 50
Painting with words 51
Why search engines matter 52
Do you trust your spellings? 53
Top 9 web writing tips 54
The rules of good design 55
Pencil & paper 56
How big is a web page? 57
Getting to grips with the grid 58
The art of typography 60
Fonts on the Web 62
Websites aren't printed on paper 63
Using color 64
Lines & shapes 66
Gradients & texture 67
Size & contrast 68
Position is everything 69
Guiding people's eyes 70
Attention to detail 72
Less is more 73
Web design is product design 74
The call to action 76
Ugly websites make money 77
Case study: Convention & style 78
Adding pictures 79
How to take a good photo 80
Choosing images for your site 81
Scanning & digital photos 82
Other people's photography 83
Photography on a budget 84
Using thumbnails 85
Illustrations & icons 86
Jpegs & gifs 87
Keeping files small 88
Colorizing a photo 89
Writing useful ALT text 90
Background images 91
Case study: Themed images 92
Links and navigation 93
Linking to other web pages 94
Linking to an email address 95
Adding image links 96
Adding a navigation bar 97
Why be conventional? 98
Navigation on large sites 99
Using a drop-down menu 100
Breadcrumb trails 101
Adding a site search 102
Adding a sitemap 103
Case study: Creating a smooth journey 104
Web forms 105
What are web forms? 106
How forms work 107
Basic form elements 108
Adding a contact form 109
Error checking 110
Designing easy to use forms 111
Forms: top design tips 112
Making your site sticky 113
Why do people return to websites? 114
Something for nothing 115
Adding news 116
Installing a message board 117
Games & contests 118
Building your website 119
The web designer's toolbox 120
Where do I start? 121
Sketching out ideas 122
Perfecting your design 123
Cutting up your design 124
Building your site visually 125
Building your site by hand 126
Web design on a budget 127
Making the back end work 128
Test early, test often 129
Tables or web standards? 130
Looking to the future 131
The Web (version 2) 132
Why reinvent the wheel? 133
AJAX: the way of the future? 134
Mastering microformats 136
Business websites 137
What makes a good business website? 138
Defining your brand 139
Standing out from the crowd 140
Content management 141
Web databases 142
Ecommerce 143
Online shops 144
Selling online with eBay 145
Getting paid 146
Personal sites and blogs 147
Why create your own site? 148
Set up a blog with Blogger 149
Create an online resume 150
Reaching the widest audience 151
Testing on different browsers 152
Web standards 153
Does your site speak Chinese? 154
Introducing accessibility 155
Top 7 accessibility tips 156
Designing for multiple devices 157
Frames & why not to use them 158
Launching your site 159
Choosing a web host 160
Registering a domain name 161
Uploading your site 162
Setting up email accounts 163
Testing your site 164
Promoting your site 165
Location, location, location 166
Search engine optimization 167
Submitting your site to Google 168
Keywords: what they are and how to use them 169
Inside the mind of Google 170
3 search engine myths 172
Why web standards matter 173
Blogging & podcasting 174
Advertise with Google AdWords 175
The 5 worst SEO mistakes 176
4 cheap ways to market your site 177
Getting 'real world' exposure 178
Promoting your site with email 179
Who's visiting your website? 180
The dark side of SEO 181
And finally... 182
Glossary 183
Index 187
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