Niederst, Jennifer, Learning Web Design: A Beginner's Guide to HTML, Graphics, and Beyond, O'Reilly, 2001

Niederst comes from a background as a web designer, and a teacher of web design. Aimed at the beginner, it also prepares the reader for more advanced work. She stresses that there is no need to learn everything, but that it is good to recognise the elements of a web page, so that they can be investigated further if required.

She assumes no knowledge of how the web works, and so defines the key terms and concepts to work with, including a good idea of how the web works. The book is a very strong visual 'how to' text, but there are also plenty of points to think about regarding functionality and usability. She is particularly strong on the use of HTML and optimising and utilising graphics at their best. Some of the topics she covers include the lack of control over how a web page is seen ('the unknowns'), how to get a site onto the web, a list of do's and don'ts for web design, helpful advice on organising a web site, and an introduction to advanced techniques. Throughout the text she refers to several different web authoring and graphics packages. A website accompanies this book. ( February 2002)

See also Web Design in a Nutshell (1999), and Designing for the Web : Getting started in a new medium (1996).