Apr 052010
- ISBN13: 9780596520977
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
Think you have to be a technical wizard to build a great web site? Think again. If you want to create an engaging web site, this thoroughly revised, completely updated edition of Creating a Web Site: The Missing Manual demystifies the process and provides tools, techniques, and expert guidance for developing a professional and reliable web presence.
Whether you want to build a personal web site, an e-commerce site, a blog, or a web site for a specific o… More >>
If you spend much time on the Internet at all, at some point you’ve said to yourself, “Maybe I should have a web site.” It can be a bit intimidating, and many people don’t get beyond that “Maybe I should …” phase. If you want to progress further, this book is for you.
The book is laid out in a logical progression from concept to interaction to making money with your site. Each stage of web “development” has its own section in the book — which is a huge plus: you don’t have to wade through a lot of basic information to get to what you want.
The first section covers the planning stage of website design. There’s a discussion about choosing a hosting service (including the problems with using the free space that many ISPs give to their subscribers) and an overview of HTML editing software. There’s also a brief introduction to HTML — just enough to get you started.
Section two takes it from there. You’ve found a hosting service, you’ve got the software, and you have the skeleton of a site. NOW you want to make the site look good. This section covers pictures, links, and tables, and even goes into some basic CSS. You learn to turn a bunch of separate web pages into a web site, add content so people want to visit your site, and make the site look good so people want to come back.
Section three goes where the average HTML tutorial doesn’t go and talks about driving traffic. Getting search engine hits, creating your own message boards, and even (once you get the traffic) making money on your site. This is the part of the book that will have broader appeal — the information will be valuable to novices as well as more experienced webmasters. The only disappointment in this section was that the subject of hit counters and stat tracking services wasn’t covered in much depth. I would have liked to have seen more information on the various tracking services, rather than a one-page mention.
Part four starts to enhance the site. Javascript menus and buttons, and audio and video. This is a dangerous section, and the book does preach caution in adding many of these features (I noticed that there was little mention of animated GIFs, which I was very thankful for). The section on creative menus using Javascript and DHTML was very useful, and I plan on implementing some of what I have learned on my own site after the first of the year. The section covering audio and video was brief, but contained enough information for the novice designer to completely annoy visitors with embedded audio. Thankfully, the council in this section was moderation in all things — they make sure that novices realize how annoying embedded audio can be.
Part five covers blogging, specifically working with Blogger. This is a good idea, though most new bloggers will eventually want something more powerful. Syndication is also briefly explained (though they don’t tell you how to create your own RSS feeds). Blogger-specific tweaks are covered briefly, and budding bloggers are encouraged to use the skills they’ve gained by reading the rest of the books to customize their basic Blogger templates.
This book is a valuable asset for novice website builders, and contains many useful tips for more advanced users (though most power users will find little in it that they don’t know already). It’s up to date with the latest standards, though they spent more time talking about using table tags for layout than I would have liked, and not nearly enough time on div tags. I understand CSS a lot better now than I did before, and I’ve got some great ideas for improving my own sites. I think that the most valuable part of this book — and, really, one of the reasons I love O’Reilly books so much — is the fact that you can do everything in this book with free software. You can use Dreamweaver or Frontpage, but you can make a great site using free software that’s readily available on the Web. Highly recommended.
Rating: 4 / 5
Title: Creating Your Own Websites
Author: Matthew MacDonald
Publisher: Pogue Press/O’Reilly
ISBN: 0-596-00842-2
Pages: 535 pages
Reviewer: Philip High
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
I’m sure we all have experienced the frustrating incompleteness and illogic of many software manuals. This book is part of an impressive series billed as: “The book that should have been in the box” put out by Pogue Press. It’s the first one I have read but I would have to agree with their tag line, and if the others are anything like it I would definitely be interested in checking them out.
Of course a comprehensive set of web building tools doesn’t come in one box — no matter how hard some publishers try to bundle and brand it as such. That’s one reason this overview is so handy. It ties together all the major issues in one current (for the moment) volume. A lot of territory is covered here: HTML, style sheets, graphics, tables, frames, site-promotion, merchandising, JavaScript, Audio, Video, Blogs, and more. Obviously there is only room to layout the basics for each of these topics, but the coverage is well selected, to the point, and surprisingly useful. At the same time it isn’t an off-putting encyclopedia but an enjoyable walk through the essential steps in web site creation.
For web beginners this is an excellent place to start. Even the introduction is worth reading! The major subjects covered are: creating web pages, making pages look beautiful, putting it online, attracting visitors, making money, and adding frills. These topics and related material are presented in five divisions, each with several chapters. Along the way you’ll find plenty of good advice on such things as what software to use, how to choose service providers, and where to go for more information.
Although the book seems to speak to the aspiring beginner, those with experience will probably find it fills in some gaps in their knowledge and serves as a great reference to have on hand. You might especially appreciate it if you have friends or clients who ask you web related questions about things you’ve done, but not recently, or without much thought. In other words, it can make you look as if you actually know what you’re doing — very handy indeed! For me it was a pleasure just to read a manual that was so well written and contained genuinely useful information, even if some of it was review. Personally, I have been interested in learning more about CSS lately and originally picked up the book for this section alone.
There are two useful Appendixes. “A” is HTML tags. It’s a pretty basic list but the descriptions are good and fairly detailed. Appendix “B” is a healthy selection of links that are conveniently grouped by the chapters they relate to in the text. I found this much easier to use than just having them scattered throughout. There is also a note on the inside back cover that reads: “The Missing CD-ROM. — There is no CD-ROM with this book; you just saved $5.00.” It’s a clever way to point you to the website, http://www.missingmanuals.com that contains files referenced in the text, additional information, and updates. Sure it’s a gimmick to keep your attention, but it’s also a useful feature and an extended digital benefit we’ve come to expect with our analogue pages. Who needs another disposable CD anyway?
Rating: 5 / 5
This is my second “Missing Manual” book (FrontPage 2003 was the first), and I must admit that O’Reilly is really on to something with this series. (Assuming the rest are in the same vein as these two.)
The author has the knack of presenting technical information in a clear and straightforward – yet folksy – manner. Of course this knack is pretty useless if the material itself isn’t helpful – and this is where this book really shines. If you’re planning on building a website, this book covers pretty much everything you need to know. I thought that the topics and the depth to which they were covered was perfect. Not only was need-to-know technical information presented, but a lot of you-really-outta-know-about-this knowledge was imparted as well.
Rating: 5 / 5
‘Creating Web Sites: The Missing Manual’ keeps the outstanding tradition the ‘Missing Manual’ line has been known for, and I personally think it’s one of the best new lines of books to come along in some time. Matthew MacDonald takes you from start to finish as you go from being a HTML, CSS, and Javascript nobody to a major player in no time at all. The price on this book is a joke, it’s well worth the retail and so much more for anyone that is new to the web site creating business. If you want to learn how to get your web site up and running in no time at all you NEED this guide YESTERDAY.
***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Rating: 5 / 5
Finally someone has written a book about creating a web site that pulls together the scattered points of focus of the programming, design, and marketing components. Generally each of these has their own viewpoint of how a website should be designed or used and they often conflict. In this book Matthew MacDonald teaches the basics of html programming but then follows that up by moving the reader forward into the world of website design. In this section he points out that while programmers may think one way another design might be better from a user interface standpoint and explains why this is the case. He does an excellent job of explaining why one method is preferred over another and when it would not be the preferred choice. Beyond programming the author also includes information on connecting with your audience, using keywords to get search engine rankings and similar marketing information. The book includes some basic information on JavaScript, Dynamic HTML, creating Fancy Buttons, and even creating a blog. This book does not cover any of those areas in detail and if you are an average programmer in any of those disciplines you will find no programming information that you don’t already know. On the other hand, the programming books delve deeper into programming without ever giving the reader the entire picture of how it all must work together to provide a complete experience for everyone involved. In short Creating Web Sites contains all the basics you need in order to create a basic site that is attractive and creates a pleasant experience for a visitor and is a recommended read.
Rating: 4 / 5