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Web Design Info: Four Great Books

web design info
web design books (this page)
web design software

I have used these extensively, and I highly recommend them. Come by our office (BSW 310E) if you want to flip through them, or visit their companion websites.

1. Web Style Guide: Basic Design Principles for Creating Web Sites, 2nd Edition. By Patrick J. Lynch and Sarah Horton. Yale University Press, 2001. companion website: http://www.webstyleguide.com

A great resource for working through all the steps of creating a website. It assumes very little prior knowledge of computers, and no prior knowledge of web design. Clear, well-written, and with loads of useful illustrations. A great place to start.

2. Web Teaching Guide: A Practical Approach to Creating Course Web Sites. By Sarah Horton. Yale University Press, 2000. Companion website: http://www.webteachingguide.com/

This is specifically for college-level teachers who want to set up a course website. Some overlap with the book above, but most of the content is specific to teaching and providing resources online to students. Like the book above, this has great basic design principles for clean usable websites. It assumes you have no prior experience with setting up web pages, and—even better—it assumes you want to set up a simple site as fast as possible, without delving into a lot of arcane knowledge and tricks.

3. Designing Web Usability: The Practice of Simplicity. By Jakob Nielsen. New Riders Publishing, 2000. Nielsen's website: http://www.useit.com

Jakob Nielsen is the guru of simplicity and usability in web design. One look at his website and you know that this guy is a minimalist—his philosophy is, forget the bells and whistles, and let the content shine through. Sworn enemy of gratuitous animation, frames, and pages that take forever to load.

4. The Non-Designer's Web Book: An Easy Guide to Creating, Designing, and Posting Your Own Web Site. 2nd Edition. By Robin Williams and John Tollett. Peachpit Press, 2000.

My understanding of what makes a website "look good" took a quantum leap forward after I read the chapter "Basic Design Principles for Non-Designers." Absolutely essential for making web pages pleasing and usable. The book is also very entertaining and easy to read, with loads and loads of illustrations.

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