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Build Your Own Web Site the Right Way Using HTML and CSS

Sunday August 20, 2006

I picked up my copy of Ian’s book Build Your Own Web Site the Right Way Using HTML and CSS over a cup of tea and a rather large slice of lovely cake. I had asked Ian if I could (whilst I was in his neighbourhood one spring day) come and get a… ahem… review copy because, on days when I am not dealing with Internet Explorer, I consider myself a little beyond beginner in the disciplines of HTML and CSS. For that reason I probably wouldn’t buy it for myself; though all the cream that was in that cake must have cost Ian a fortune, maybe I should buy a copy, poor lad.

As ever I am a little late to the review party but it’s a big book, there’s a lot to read and nod your head in agreement with, a lot to let out a sigh of relief about, glad that people getting to grips with HTML and CSS for the first time are going to get good, sound, advice.

In reading it I was reminded of a book I still flick through now and again, nearly six years on. The first book I ever got that dealt with that weird stuff going on in Dreamweaver’s code view, Beginning XHTML. I have a strong emotional attachment to that book, though my belief in XHTML is a little jaded these days. It was this book that really got me excited about hand coding XHTML and even the single chapter on CSS was mildly interesting.

I can imagine Ian’s book maturing in the same way, becoming a fond old friend for many web designers looking back 5 or 6 years down the line; something they turn to not only to see how far they have come but just to check up on that little something they aren’t sure about because it’s been a while. What I am telling you is that this is not a coffee table book, like so many recently; this is a book of substance, something that’s probably going to look well used pretty quickly.

I am not going to keep my copy, I am going to give it to a friend who is desperate to jump from table based layouts, eager to ditch spacer.gif and despite my best efforts he’s still unconvinced; if Ian’s book can’t cure him I really don’t think there is any hope.

Now of course, you are thinking: Is he just saying all of this because Ian fed him cake? I promise you that is not the case, it was the tea that sealed the deal. ;)

  1. Mag

    684 days ago

    A recent study claims that eating / drinking while doing something else, reduce concentration on that something else, not to mention ruining it totally in some cases.

  2. John Oxton

    684 days ago

    Clearly the study is correct. By which I mean I assume you were eating and drinking whilst reading this and then leaving your comment?

  3. Biomech

    683 days ago

    Everyone has one of those books that helped them move from on from tables and spacer images, I myself read a really good book on HTML a while back, and moved on from my WYSIWYG editor to hand-coding. It was so much more fun, though I thought it wouldn’t be at first.

    It’s really great to look back and see how one has improved their code/design throughout the years. =D

  4. Ian Lloyd

    683 days ago

    Ah yes, the cream cake. I remember it well. Manda’s mum has this habit of buying cakes because ‘they look nice’ but then not eating them, so I end up being plied with cakes when I go over there. This was one such cake, so it cost me nothing and I’m sure it won’t be the last. Let me know when you are passing next (as I’m sure you will be again soon) and I’ll see what delights we have stashed away for guest entertaining moments. Heck, I might have recourse to bribe you again, you never know ;-)

  5. Lau

    679 days ago

    Hello !

    Sorry but your mail server respond a 550 error : user unknown ! So there is my message, as you moderate this part and that it won’t appear straight away ;)

    Thank you for your zenphoto theme JoshuaInk ! I use it on my dad’s personnal website and i appreciate your php, simple and “efficace” (in French)_

    Well, having problems with it on my server i’ve made some little changes on structure so that portability and translation would be easier… Would you be interested in the source code ? If so, please ask.

    Best regards,

    Laurent ELGARD
    Bordeaux, FRANCE_


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