Midwest Book Review said
The third updated edition of Designing With Web Standards tales a classic guide, updates it with the help of Ethan Marcotte, and discusses the basics of creating sites that load faster, reach more users, and cost less to design. This book's been revised extensively to include new ideas, techniques, and selling strategies, and is a 'must' for serious collections.
Kenneth Rosenberg said
I bought this book not really knowing that much about css, and this book kinda blew me away. The authors really know what they are talking about with their years of experience and the many references to the various websites. A must read!
David Warfel said
I would highly recommend this book to anyone in the web design field. A little basic HTML & CSS knowledge would be helpful, but you can do without. I've been designing websites for 4 years, trying to keep up with standards, and there is still much I learned from this book. It has changed the way I code.
He provides very solid arguments why to design with standards; he outlines the benefits; he explains his reasoning to both designers & managers/CEOs. He doesn't tell you there is one way all sites should be designed. Rather, he explains the specifications they should meet, and why you should meet them. He provides several options/techniques on working with browser compatibility.
If you're looking for a tutorial book that blows your mind with crazy-awesome techniques, look elsewhere. But if you're interested in an informative, research/fact-based book, with a personal writing style, that will transform the way you think about the web, help you create accessible, compatible sites for your clients, then you need to read this. And I sincerely hope you are interested.
Brian Edwards said
Overall good but I question the intended audience of this book. It seems to be directed at people who already know a lot about web design but then goes on to explain the basics. It glosses over a lot of the important issues and seems to ramble on and on about the trivial. The book doesn't really get started until part II. Part 1 could be 1/3 the current size if it didn't repeat itself every few paragraphs. I do like the philosophical/theory type of talk that Zeldman delves into but it just needs to be tightened up. Maybe in the 4th edition?
Anyway, part II is where the book really shines. He explains a lot directly and indirectly by which I mean he selects examples that give you specific code but that also give insight into comprehensive design decisions even when doesn't directly address them. Chapter 17 is a perfect example of this. It makes you really ponder your design decisions.
All criticism aside, I ordered the companion book "Developing with web standards" because I like Zeldman's third edition so much.
Richard Fink said
As used by Jeffrey Zeldman and co-author Ethan Marcotte in the third edition of Designing With Web Standards, the term "web standards" is a catchphrase that refers to writing web pages using, as a basis, a group of free and open technical specifications. The core specs being HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Think of them as the three legs of a tripod upon which all else rests.
In no way futuristic, this has already happened. HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are at the heart of publishing in the 21st century. DWWS3 is largely about authoring with these and other related specs in smart and efficient ways that could, more simply and accurately, be labeled best practice. The first edition of DWWS in 2003 was in large part a work of advocacy. But six Internet years have passed and today it's mainstream. As I've labeled it on my blog, Readable Web - [...], the third edition is, simply, Required Reading.
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