Title - Build Your Own Website The Right Way Using HTML & CSS, Second Edition
Author - Dave Roman, GCPCUG Member
Category - Book
Subject - Website Design
Date - February 2009

This Sitepoint book by Ian Lloyd comes with sample web site code that you use to build something new to the site in each chapter. You don’t get a CD, but you get a special code in the book that allows you to go to the web site code on line and download it to your computer.

Chapter 1 – Setting Up Shop

In the first chapter he makes sure that you have all the tools you’re going to need to build your web site.  The tools are all free.  The basic tools are the text editor In this case he suggests using Notepad. If you are using a Mac, he suggests TextEdit.

The next tool is the browser and he recommends Internet Explorer. For Mac it is Safari.

He also gives you options like NoteTab for the text editor and Firefox for the browser. Isn’t browser the guy that used to sing those 50’s and doo wop songs?

He also mentions a few graphics and photo tools.

Chapter 2 – Your First Web Pages

Here you will explore XHTML, understand the basic requirements of every web page, and investigate the common elements.  By the end of the chapter, you should have the beginnings of your first web site.

Chapter 3 – Adding Some Style

Now you’ll learn what CSS is and why it is good technology.  You will apply background and foreground colors, change text and work with web links.

Chapter 4 – Shaping Up Using CSS

Now we learn more about CSS and what it can do for border styles and page layouts. You will experiment with dotted borders and big, bold borders.  You’ll also get into blocks of navigation.

Chapter 5 – Picture This!  Using Images on Your Web Site

As the title says, this is all about images.  You’ll end up creating a photo gallery for this project site.

Chapter 6 – Tables: Tools for Organizing Data

This chapter teaches you when tables should be used and when they shouldn’t be used.

Chapter 7 – Forms: Interacting With Your Audience

This chapter talks about forms (not your W2 or 1040s) and what you can do with the data collected (the IRS knows what to do with your data.  Squeeze more taxes out of you).  You’ll learn the different form elements such as text inputs, checkboxes, etc.  You’ll also learn to use a free web service to have the data entered in your form to your email address.

Chapter 8 – Launching Your Web Site

This chapter is about hosting and various plans including pros and cons of free services.  You’ll also learn about tools to transfer your new web site to a web server for everyone to see.

Chapter 9 – Adding a Blog to Your Web Site

Just like the title says, you will add a blog to your website. A blog is short for WebLog and is a site for added comments and allowing others to comment on the content of your blog.

Chapter 10 – Pimp My Site: Cool Stuff You Can Add For Free

mmmm…..  this sounds fishy, but it’s all about finding tools you can use, plugins and
add ons to make your site more useful to visitors.

Chapter 11 – Where to Now?  What You Could Learn Next

The final chapter summarizes the skills that you’ve learned in this book.  He recommends books and websites to help advance your knowledge of creating websites.

This book is for you if you are an absolute beginner in web design, but are familiar with the use of a computer.  It’s for you if you want to create a web site for your hobby or a community group you belong to.  It’s for you if you don’t like techno-babble that computer geeks use.

A very basic book, but a very good book for the beginning “guru”.  A great gift for someone who wants to learn more about the web.

Build Your Own Website The Right Way, using HTML & CSS, 2nd Edition
By Ian Lloyd
SitePoint Books / O’Reilly
November 2008
438 pages
USD $29.95
ISBN 10: 0-9804552-7-8

Discount of 35% for User Group members
Use code: DSUG
http://www.oreilly.com