This first-rate overview of Web design and creation brings together two bestselling and highly regarded members of the Weinman family--Web graphics guru Lynda and her CGI wizard brother William--and encompasses both technical and aesthetic issues. The Weinmans work from the idea that learning how to code your own HTML documents will give you better flexibility and results (not to mention self-gratification); they not only explain "how to," but also "how to do well." Creative HTML Design includes solid explanations on safe colors, how to reduce graphic sizes, and how to use tables, JavaScript, and cascading style sheets in ways that are accessible to most Web browsers. Given the breadth of information covered, this is one of the more comprehensive and digestible introductions to Web design available.

Throughout each chapter, Team Weinman demonstrate how to create a complete Web site, highlighting both state-of-the-art techniques and tasteful rules of thumb. They detail each step of creating the Ducks in a Row site and point you to the finished results, which can be viewed online. The authors explain a variety of popular utilities, including image-map editors and graphics packages, and also teach you how to best troubleshoot the less-than-optimal HTML created by the many WYSIWYG editors on the market.

The excellent appendix contains a complete HTML 4.0 reference and a glossary of terms. A browser-safe color chart is also included in the front cover. The enclosed CD-ROM contains all of the files used throughout each lesson. Creative HTML Design is more of an introductory guide, but there is advice in here that will benefit all levels.