Learning to make your own Web pages almost seems like an obsolete skill now that there are so many content management systems (CMS) and blogging tools available. But for small, generally static sites, a CMS can't beat the security, ease of implementation, search engine friendliness, and low bandwidth usage of hand-coded HTML and cascading style sheets (CSS). Build Your Own Web Site The Right Way Using HTML & CSS is a good tutorial for people who want to create their own Web sites without being tied to a CMS with all of its overhead and maintenance.

Writing analysis

I was surprised at the poor quality of the writing in Build Your Own Web Site The Right Way. To begin with, there's a major typo on the first page of the preface. How can you miss a typo on the first page of written text in the entire manuscript? Then there are the commas; there are so many superfluous commas in this book that I'm certain the author must have had a financial incentive to put them there. Capitalization of words like Web and Internet is selectively enforced. He also frequently goes on little adventures with either obscure British colloquialisms or the apparent correction of them, so readers are left to stumble through sentences like this one: "Building web sites is something from which many of us get a lot of enjoyment."

While the author may not be much of a writer, he does know what he's talking about when it comes to static Web site design principles. Having created many Web sites with the same techniques and technologies, I couldn't disagree with any of his advice or instructions on HTML and CSS coding. So the book is very informative but at times hard to read because of the author's style.

Putting the book to the test

Usually I fault most programming books for not providing exercises for readers to follow -- after all, you can't really learn a language if you don't use it, and often a reader won't immediately have a good reason to use it -- but Build Your Own Web Site The Right Way is different. Anyone can build their own personal Web site for themselves while following along with the book's instruction, substituting their own project for the book's.

The book covers a lot of ground with site design in XHTML and CSS. It begins by building an example site with basic XHTML, and progresses by adding more elements and techniques along the way. In the latter portion of the book, advanced concepts like Web forms and the implementation of outside APIs (Blogger.com is the example) to create dynamic sites are discussed. The only thing missing is a serious discussion on WYSIWYG editors like Dreamweaver, FrontPage, and Nvu. While Dreamweaver is mentioned in passing a few times, the author never really stops to explain what it is, how it should and should not be used, and how it might benefit Web designers.

Also left uncovered is Javascript, though that is such a confusing subject that its omission in this book is a good thing.

It's always disappointing to see GNU/Linux ignored in books like these. The author's advice on software is limited to Apple and Windows users, and all of the book's screen shots are of either OS X or Windows XP. Software recommendations and cosmetics aside, the entire book is still valid for GNU/Linux, *BSD, or other alternative OS users and it is not specific to any certain HTTP server.

Conclusions

If you're thinking of building your own HTML/CSS-based Web site for personal, family, or business use, this book is an excellent resource for learning as you design. The author says in the preface that historically there have been many mediocre or incomplete HTML instructional books, and that Build Your Own Web Site The Right Way Using HTML & CSS is the answer to them. He's right in many ways -- there have been a number of low-quality tutorials and guides over the years that have taught bad design principles. I know because I've read them. But while I find the quality of the writing to be sub-par, this book's technical advice is correct, thorough, and appropriate for readers of all backgrounds. It is definitely the best HTML/CSS design book I have ever read.

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Copyright 2006 Jem Matzan.