I was pleased that Sams asked me to take over production of this book. The 7th edition, by Michael Morrison (author of editions one through seven), was published in 2005—that’s almost a decade in “Internet Time,” meaning that the text was quite out of date. The 8th edition is almost a complete re-write and re-organization of the content, although some examples have been kept as an homage to the previous author. But for all intents and purposes, this is a different book from the previous seven editions—and not just because it’s in color! The goal of this book is to give you all the skills you need to create a modern, standards-compliant web site in just 24 short, easy lessons. This book covers XHTML and CSS, and HTML 5 where applicable (although it is not a how-to for HTML 5). The technical stuff is not enough, so this book also includes the advice you need when setting up a web site to achieve your goals. Key details—designing an effective page layout, uploading with FTP software, organizing and managing multiple pages, and SEO—are all covered in enough depth to get you beyond the snags that often frustrate beginners.

• ISBN 0672330970, © Sams 2010
• Download the source code.
• Translations: Chinese (Simplified), Greek
• 

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Table of Contents

This table of contents reflects the sub-headings within each hour/lesson. Each hour/lesson also has a summary, quiz questions, and one or more activities for you to try on your own.

» PART I: GETTING STARTED ON THE WEB

Hour 1: Understanding How the Web Works

• A Brief History of HTML and the World Wide Web
• Creating Web Content
• Understanding Web Content Delivery
• Selecting a Web Hosting Provider
• Testing with Multiple Web Browsers

Hour 2: Publishing Web Content

• Creating the Sample File for this Hour
• Using FTP to Transfer Files
• Understanding Where to Place Files on the Web Server
• Distributing Content without a Web Server
• Testing Web Content

Hour 3: Understanding HTML and XHTML Connections

• Getting Started with a Simple Web Page
• HTML Tags Every XHTML Web Page Must Have
• Organizing a Page with Paragraphs and Line Breaks
• Organizing Your Content with Headings
• Validating Your Web Content
• The Scoop on HTML, XML, XHTML, and HTML 5

Hour 4: Understanding Cascading Style Sheets

• How CSS Works
• A Basic Style Sheet
• A CSS Style Primer
• Using Style Classes
• Using Style IDs
• Internal Style Sheets and Inline Styles

» PART II: BUILDING BLOCKS OF PRACTICAL WEB DESIGN

Hour 5: Working with Text Blocks and Lists

• Aligning Text on a Page
• The Three Types of HTML Lists
• Placing Lists Within Lists

Hour 6: Working with Fonts

• Boldface, Italics, and Special Text Formatting
• Tweaking the Font
• Working with Special Characters

Hour 7: Using Tables to Display Information

• Creating a Simple Table
• Controlling Table Sizes
• Alignment and Spanning Within Tables
• Page Layout with Tables

Hour 8: Using External and Internal Links

• Using Web Addresses
• Linking Within a Page Using Anchors
• Linking Between Your Own Web Content
• Linking to External Web Content
• Linking to an Email Address
• Opening a Link in a New Browser Window
• Using CSS to Style Hyperlinks

Hour 9: Working with Colors

• Best Practices for Choosing Colors
• Understanding Web Colors
• Using Hexadecimal Values for Colors
• Using CSS to Set Background, Text, and Border Colors

Hour 10: Creating Images for Use on the Web

• Choosing Graphics Software
• The Least You Need to Know About Graphics
• Preparing Photographic Images
• Creating Banners and Buttons
• Reducing the Number of Colors in an Image
• Working with Transparent Images
• Creating Tiled Backgrounds
• Creating Animated Web Graphics

Hour 11: Using Images in Your Web Site

• Placing Images on a Web Page
• Describing Images with Text
• Specifying Image Height and Width
• Aligning Images
• Turning Images into Links
• Using Background Images
• Using Imagemaps

Hour 12: Using Multimedia in Your Web Site

• Linking to Multimedia Files
• Embedding Multimedia Files
• Additional Tips for Using Multimedia

Hour 13: Working with Frames [note: I do not advocate frames.]

• What Are Frames?
• Building a Frameset
• Linking Between Frames and Windows
• Using Inline Frames

» PART III: ADVANCED WEB PAGE DESIGN WITH CSS

Hour 14: Working with Margins, Padding, Alignment, and Floating

• Using Margins
• Padding Elements
• Keeping Everything Aligned
• Understanding the Float Property

Hour 15: Understanding the CSS Box Model and Positioning

• The CSS Box Model
• The Whole Scoop on Positioning
• Controlling the Way Things Stack Up
• Managing the Flow of Text

Hour 16: Using CSS to Do More with Lists

• HTML List Refresher
• How the CSS Box Model Affects Lists
• Placing List Item Indicators
• Creating Image Maps with List Items and CSS

Hour 17: Using CSS to Design Navigation

• How Navigation Lists Differ from Regular Lists
• Creating Vertical Navigation with CSS
• Creating Horizontal Navigation with CSS

Hour 18: Using Mouse Actions to Modify Text Display

• Creating a Tool Tip with CSS
• Displaying Additional Rollover Text with CSS
• Accessing Events
• Using onclick to Change <div> Appearance

Hour 19: Creating Fixed or Liquid Layouts

• Understanding Fixed Layouts
• Understanding Liquid Layouts
• Creating a Fixed/Liquid Hybrid Layout

» PART IV: ADVANCED WEB SITE FUNCTIONALITY AND MANAGEMENT

Hour 20: Creating Print-Friendly Web Pages

• What Makes a Page Print-Friendly?
• Applying a Media-Specific Style Sheet
• Designing a Style Sheet for Print Pages
• Viewing a Web Page in Print Preview

Hour 21: Understanding Dynamic Web Sites

• Understanding the Different Types of Scripting
• Including JavaScript in HTML
• Displaying Random Content
• Understanding the Document Object Model
• Changing Images Based on User Interaction

Hour 22: Working with Web-Based Forms

• How HTML Forms Work
• Creating a Form
• Accepting Text Input
• Naming Each Piece of Form Data
• Including Hidden Data in Forms
• Exploring Form Input Controls
• Submitting Form Data

Hour 23: Organizing and Managing a Web Site

• When One Page Is Enough
• Organizing a Simple Site
• Organizing a Larger Site
• Writing Maintainable HTML Code

Hour 24: Helping People Find Your Web Pages

• Publicizing Your Web Site
• Listing Your Pages with the Major Search Sites
• Providing Hints for Search Engines
• Additional Tips for Search Engine Optimization

» PART V: APPENDICES

Appendix A: HTML and CSS Resources on the Internet

Appendix B: HTML and CSS Quick Reference