Below is a selection of some of our favorite books for learning how to build your own website. Recommended books range from web usability to creating beautiful web design to the mechanics of website development.
 Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 2nd Edition by Steve Krug
In the second edition of this classic, Steve Krug adds three new chapters in the same style as the original: wry and entertaining, yet loaded with insights and practical advice for novice and veteran alike. Don’t be surprised if it completely changes the way you think about Web design. |
 Designing Web Usability: The Practice of Simplicity by Jakob Nielsen
Renowned Web usability guru Jakob Nielsen shares his insightful thoughts on the subject. Packed with annotated examples of actual Web sites, this book sets out many of the design precepts all Web developers should follow. This guide segments discussions of Web usability into page, content, site, and intranet design. |
 Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual by David McFarland
This new version of the popular web design software offers a rich environment for building professional sites, with drag-and-drop simplicity, clean HTML code, and dynamic database-driven web site creation tools. This book helps both first-time and experienced web designers bring stunning, interactive web sites to life. |
 The Principles of Beautiful Web Design by Jason Beaird (aka Jason the Designer Man)
A simple, easy-to-follow guide, illustrated with plenty of full-color examples, this book will lead you through the process of creating great designs from start to finish. Good design principles are not rocket science, and using the information contained in this book will help you create stunning web sites. |
 Learning Web Design by Jennifer Niederst Robbins
Everything you need to know to create professional web sites is right here. Start from the beginning — defining how the Web and web pages work — and build from there. By the end of the book, you’ll have the skills to create multi-column CSS layouts with optimized graphic files, and you’ll know how to get your pages up on the Web. |
Suggested Reading
Below is a selection of some of our favorite books for learning how to build your own website. Recommended books range from web usability to creating beautiful web design to the mechanics of website development.
In the second edition of this classic, Steve Krug adds three new chapters in the same style as the original: wry and entertaining, yet loaded with insights and practical advice for novice and veteran alike. Don’t be surprised if it completely changes the way you think about Web design.
Renowned Web usability guru Jakob Nielsen shares his insightful thoughts on the subject. Packed with annotated examples of actual Web sites, this book sets out many of the design precepts all Web developers should follow. This guide segments discussions of Web usability into page, content, site, and intranet design.
This new version of the popular web design software offers a rich environment for building professional sites, with drag-and-drop simplicity, clean HTML code, and dynamic database-driven web site creation tools. This book helps both first-time and experienced web designers bring stunning, interactive web sites to life.
A simple, easy-to-follow guide, illustrated with plenty of full-color examples, this book will lead you through the process of creating great designs from start to finish. Good design principles are not rocket science, and using the information contained in this book will help you create stunning web sites.
Everything you need to know to create professional web sites is right here. Start from the beginning — defining how the Web and web pages work — and build from there. By the end of the book, you’ll have the skills to create multi-column CSS layouts with optimized graphic files, and you’ll know how to get your pages up on the Web.