Amazon Review: What does it feel like to create a major commercial Web site? And what do you have to do to make it succeed? David Siegel's new Secrets of Successful Web Sites gives us a close look at 15 high-profile projects and extracts the hard lessons that they can teach. Anyone embarking on a big development project, whether as a designer, producer, or client, will do well to consider them.
 
Siegel's premise is that commercial Web design is an exciting and noble undertaking, but one that is fraught with pitfalls. His goal is to help both designers and their clients understand what they are getting into, what each side needs to bring to the table, and what both sides must do to communicate effectively. He also addresses the practical realities that make or break a project, figuring out what a particular Web site is supposed to do, how long will it take to build, what it will cost, and how it will be maintained.
 
The first half of the book consists of case studies of the creation--often painful--of successful Web sites. The hurdles these developers faced include hopelessly unrealistic schedules, flaky subcontractors, confused clients, and the immaturity of Web technology itself. Each study showcases the particular problems that the designers faced, how they managed to overcome them, and how you can avoid finding yourself in the same spot. The second half of the book is a systematic exposition of the ropes: What the market realities are, how designers and clients find each other, how to put together a proposal and bid on a job, and how to manage a project using Web technology. Siegel also takes you through the creation of content and design, staffing the fledgling site, testing it, and finally getting it online.
 
Organizational nitty-gritty of this sort is the less glamorous side of building a site, but Siegel injects it with the same excitement that made his Creating Killer Web Sites a smash bestseller. Anyone involved in creating a real Web site will find excellent practical orientation and a lot of much-needed debunking in Secrets of Successful Web Sites. --

Amazon Review: David Siegel's classic guide to good taste in Web design has been completely overhauled in this second edition. Every chapter has been reworked, repurposed, and rewritten with over 100 new pages and 150 new illustrations, new information on 4.0 browser design, and a comprehensive guide to Style Sheet implementations for both Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer. Those who enjoyed Creating Killer Web Sites the first time around will doubtlessly benefit from this new edition, which is meant as a continuation of the first book rather than a simple update. At the same time, anyone who has never read the first edition will be able to pick up this new edition without having missed a beat. Siegel's accompanying Web site (www.killersites.com) contains supplemental information as well as chapters from the first edition that didn't make the 2.0 cut.
 
More of a style guide than an HTML guide, Creating Killer Web Sites is concerned with the building of Third-Generation sites, Web sites that are conceived by design and not by technological ability. Siegel and his helpers at Studio Verso overview a wide variety of topics, including a history of browsers, how to use specific HTML tags, how to select software tools, and advice on pure aesthetic design. Like the first edition, the second edition of the book contains an attractive design, a graphic on every page, and screen shots of successful Web pages that will set any designer's wheels in motion.
 
There is a great deal of information to absorb here and whether you agree with all, some, or none of the advice, you'll still be left with plenty to think about. If you're brand new to Web site creation, this is an excellent introduction to the ideas involved with site design. However, because Creating Killer Web Sites is not a tutorial or HTML reference, you will need to supplement it with one.
 
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Amazon Review: Like it or not, HotWired, the Web presence of Wired magazine, is one of the most distinctive and interesting sites on the Web. The site's outlandish color combinations and adherence to the latest and greatest in Web technology are the perfect counterpart to its editorial identity. In HotWired Style: Principles for Building Smart Web Sites, head Webmonkey Jeffrey Veen shares some of the design philosophies and techniques he and the other HotWired designers employ to achieve these singular results. It is not a prerequisite that you agree with all of HotWired's style choices to learn something useful from this guide. HotWired Style offers sound advice on topics such as interface design and metaphors, effective hypertext, and appropriate multimedia. Unlike some Web design books, which emphasize style, this one has plenty of useable examples and some exceptional "How We Did It" sections that provide insight into HotWired's cutting-edge techniques. This isn't a tutorial, so beginners will want to supplement HotWired Style with a book (or, as Veen suggests, an online resource) on HTML and Web design. --

Amazon Review: Unless you're abnormally gifted, the best way to learn a craft thoroughly is to learn not only its central tenets but also its pitfalls. Here, authors Vincent Flanders and Michael Willis teach you good Web design by pointing out ugly, misguided, and confusing sites--any site that fails to deliver good graphics and clear, well-focused content. As the authors show you all sorts of corporate and personal pages, they help you determine your target audience, design your site and its navigational elements and content, and solve problems concerning graphics and text. You also learn about using tables versus frames and get an introduction to hot technologies such as plug-ins, cascading style sheets, XML, databases, VRML, Java, streaming video and audio, videoconferencing, and chat. Finally, the authors address maintenance and marketing issues, teaching you how to set up an appropriate domain name, update your site, register your site with search engines and directories, and use reciprocal links and banner ads. The authors address cross-platform issues and Netscape/Microsoft incompatibility issues where appropriate. This is a full-color book, with enthusiastic, amusing writing as well as helpful screen shots and tips on Web-design software. The companion hybrid CD-ROM includes utilities for creating GIF animations, style sheets, and HTML pages and for creating, compressing, and optimizing Web graphics. --