Press releases

Learning Web Design, 4th Edition--New from O'Reilly Media: A Beginner's Guide to HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Web Graphics

Sebastopol, CA—Want to build web pages, but have no previous experience? Learning Web Design, 4th Edition (O'Reilly Media, $49.99 USD) is the perfect place to start. This thoroughly revised edition is ideal for students and professionals of all backgrounds and skill levels, whether you're a beginner or brushing up on existing skills.

You'll begin at square one, learning how the Web and web pages work, and then steadily build from there. By the end of the book, you'll have the skills to create a simple site with multi-column pages that adapt for mobile devices. Each chapter provides exercises to help you to learn various techniques, and short quizzes to make sure you understand key concepts.

With Learning Web Design, you'll learn how to:

• Build HTML pages with text, links, images, tables, and forms
• Use style sheets (CSS) for colors, backgrounds, formatting text, page layout, and even simple animation effects
• Learn about the new HTML5 elements, APIs, and CSS3 properties that are changing what you can do with web pages
• Make your pages display well on mobile devices by creating a responsive web design
• Learn how JavaScript works—and why the language is so important in web design
• Create and optimize web graphics so they'll download as quickly as possible

Author Jennifer Niederst Robbins was one of the first designers for the Web. She has learned through the years what works, and what doesn't, both for designing, and teaching design.

"It's a book for beginners, but nothing is left out or dumbed down," Robbins says. "The manner in which the content is presented makes it easy to get started, but everything is in there—all of HTML5, all supported features of CSS3, and introductions to advanced techniques. And readers can be certain they'll be taught according to contemporary best practices."

Robbins continues, "I wrote this for people looking for a new career in web design, designers learning how to code, and anybody who needs to build a simple site. Many teachers have used it as a course book for their introductory web design classes."

Advance Praise
I have been trying to learn web design for years. I am very adept at networking, configuring and troubleshooting Macs and PCs but web design and programming have been difficult. Your book, Learning Web Design, has been tremendous. I have so many books on the subject but yours did the trick.
—Rodney Gipson

In all my years of study I have never come across a text that was so easy to read, so easy to learn from, and yet so thorough in the aspects covered. I'm only half way through, but each time I pick up the book I think how good it is. It is the most readable, most useful text EVER (in the history of the world...lol) in my opinion.
—Brian Rampling

I recently picked up Learning Web Design and LOVE it (almost Potteresque). You have managed to address most (all?) of my pet peeves regarding technical books...great voice, great examples, you define everything I want defined as I'm reading (and even some things that I don't know I want defined, but actually do).
—Steven Partington

I am a Professor at Johnson County Community College using your Learning Web Design textbook in an introductory xHTML/CSS class. ...I don't know how you've manage to pack so much info in such a short space, but you have a fabulous way of tersely yet clearly explaining exactly what needs to be explained at the right time. And the hands-on exercises are critical too. Thank you.
—Lisa Friedrichsen