Web Design in Easy Steps

Posted on Wed, 21 Feb 2007
 at 10:47:13

     Web Design in Easy Steps is the latest in a long line of books to come out of the "In Easy Steps" series, covering everything from "PhotoShop CS2 in Easy Steps" to "Internet for Seniors in Easy Steps". It is not so much a technical book, showing you how to make a div float or an image have a nice drop shadow, but more of a re-cap of the current trends in web design, and how to improve search engine results, make your site more accessible and how to get it found by search engines etc.

     First impressions I got when I first received the book was how well presented it is. All of the pages are glossy with colour images and a nice layout. Around the edges are "Did You Knows" and tips, and the main page content goes through the middle. It manages to do this without looking cluttered and is easy to follow as a result. The design of the book does help to convince you that Richard Quick knows what he is talking about.

     The book itself, design aside, is packed with useful tips and tricks, some of which I have used on this site (notice the ticks next to visited links?). The prose is well written and nicely organised so as not to give the reader a headache, and it also means you can put the book down and find where you were easily.

     As near as I can tell every tip in the book also has an example site with it in the form of a screen shot and usually an address. This definitely helps bring the points across, and shows the reader how the tip being discussed helps, or how it looks, which is useful, to say the least.

     Not only does the quality of the book stand out, but also the helpfulness of the author. I have spoken with him on the Boagworld forums so i know from first hand experience that he is both knowledgeable and helpful in this subject. He has also made a blog and podcast to accompany this book so the useful tips do not dry up once the last apge has been read. It really does give the impression that he is passionate about this subject.

     My only real beef with this book is the cover - what does an ape have to do with this again?

Richard Quick said...
Hey Dan, Glad you liked the book. The answer to your last question, btw, is that orangutans have nothing to do with Web Design .. but I thought yet another spider's web would look a bit cheesy. Mainly, I wanted the book to appeal to people who wouldn't normally pick up a web design book (i.e. non-geeks) and thought that a picture of a cute baby animal, like this baby orangutan, would do the trick. ;o) What's your username on Boagworld?
...on Tue, 13 Mar 2007 at 21:13:53.