Web Design in a Nutshell

by Robbins, Jennifer Niederst

• ISBN13: 9780596009878
• ISBN10: 0596009879
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-04-30
• Publisher: Oreilly & Associates Inc

Summary

Web Design in a Nutshell, 3rd Edition contains the nitty- gritty on everything readers need to know to design web pages. It's the good stuff, without the fluff, written and organised so that answers can be found quickly. This completely revised and expanded edition is chock-full of information about the wide range of front-end technologies and techniques from which web designers and authors must draw. It is an excellent reference for HTML tags with special attention given to browser support, platform idiosyncrasies, and standards. This update stresses the importance of creating pages the 'right' way. It includes more content on the integration of XHTML and a new section with expanded information on Cascading Style Sheets. All chapters are updated to reflect the current technologies. This book is an indispensable tool for web designers and authors of all levels.

Author Biography

1. Jennifer Niederst Robbins

   Jennifer Niederst Robbins was one of the first designers for the Web. As the designer of O'Reilly's Global Network Navigator (GNN), the first commercial web site, she has been designing for the Web since 1993. Since then, she has worked as the creative director of Songline Studios (a former subsidiary of O'Reilly) and as a freelance designer and consultant since 1996. She is the author of the bestselling "Web Design in a Nutshell" and "Learning Web Design (O'Reilly), and she has taught web design at the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston and Johnson and Wales University in Providence. She has spoken at major design and Internet events including SXSW Interactive, Seybold Seminars, the GRAFILL conference (Geilo, Norway), and one of the first W3C International Expos. In addition to designing, Jennifer enjoys cooking, travel, indie-rock, and making stuff. She maintains her own professional web site at http://www.littlechair.com as well.

Table of Contents

Foreword	xv
Contributors	xvii
Technical Reviewers	xix
Preface	xxi
Part I. The Web Environment
1. Web Standards	3	(9)
What Are Standards?	3	(3)
Current Web Standards	6	(3)
Standards-Driven Design	9	(2)
For Further Reading	11	(1)
2. Designing for a Variety of Browsers	12	(15)
Browser History	12	(2)
Browser Roll-Call	14	(5)
Gathering Usage Statistics	19	(1)
Learning from Browser Statistics	20	(2)
Dealing with Browser Differences	22	(3)
Know Your Audience	25	(1)
Test!	25	(2)
3. Designing for a Variety of Displays	27	(15)
Designing for Unknown Monitor Resolutions	28	(2)
Fixed Versus Liquid Web Pages	30	(7)
Designing "Above the Fold"	37	(1)
Mobile Devices	37	(5)
4. A Beginner's Guide to the Server	42	(14)
Servers 101	42	(4)
Unix Directory Structures	46	(4)
File Naming Conventions	50	(1)
Uploading Documents (FTP)	50	(3)
File (MIME) Types	53	(3)
5. Accessibility	56	(16)
Types of Disabilities	56	(1)
Overview of Assistive Technology	57	(2)
Who Is Responsible for Accessibility?	59	(1)
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines	60	(4)
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0)	64	(1)
Standards Variations and Section 508	64	(1)
Web Accessibility Techniques	65	(3)
Testing for Accessibility	68	(4)
6. Internationalization	72	(17)
Character Sets and Encoding	73	(5)
Character References	78	(2)
Language Features	80	(4)
Style Sheets Language Features	84	(1)
For Further Reading	85	(4)
Part II. The Structural Layer: XML and (X)HTML
7. Introduction to XML	89	(24)
XML Basics	90	(1)
How It Works	91	(2)
XML Document Syntax	93	(3)
Well-Formed XML	96	(1)
Document Type Definition (DTD)	97	(6)
XML Namespaces	103	(1)
XML on the Web	104	(1)
Web-Related XML Applications	105	(7)
Where to Learn More	112	(1)
8. HTML and XHTML Overview	113	(17)
The Role of HTML	114	(1)
Markup Basics	115	(4)
Introduction to XHTML	119	(3)
Which Standard Is Right for You?	122	(1)
Well-Formed XHTML	123	(3)
Web Authoring Tools	126	(2)
Good Authoring Practices	128	(2)
9. Document Structure	130	(14)
Minimal Document Structure	130	(2)
Document Type Declaration	132	(3)
The Root Element	135	(1)
The Document Header	136	(6)
The Document Body	142	(2)
10. Text Elements	144	(25)
Choosing Text Elements	145	(1)
The Building Blocks of Content	146	(3)
Inline Elements	149	(3)
Deleted and Inserted Text	152	(1)
Generic Elements (div and span)	153	(3)
Lists	156	(5)
Presentational Elements	161	(6)
Character Entity References	167	(2)
11. Creating Links	169	(9)
Simple Hypertext Links	169	(2)
Linking Within a Document	171	(2)
Targeting Windows	173	(1)
Alternative Protocols	173	(2)
Linking Documents with link	175	(3)
12. Images and Objects	178	(27)
Inline Images	178	(8)
Image Maps	186	(6)
Embedded Media	192	(9)
Java Applets	201	(2)
Inline (Floating) Frames	203	(2)
13. Tables	205	(27)
Table Uses	206	(1)
Basic Table Structure	207	(6)
Row Groups	213	(1)
Columns and Column Groups	214	(2)
Table Presentation	216	(4)
Accessible Tables	220	(6)
Responsible Layout Tables	226	(6)
14. Frames	232	(15)
Introduction to Frames	232	(2)
Basic Frameset Structure	234	(5)
Frame Function and Appearance	239	(2)
Targeting Frames	241	(3)
Frame Design Tips and Tricks	244	(3)
15. Forms	247	(26)
The Basic Form Element	248	(2)
Form Controls	250	(13)
Accessibility Features	263	(4)
disabled and readonly	267	(1)
Affecting Form Appearance	267	(6)
Part III. The Presentation Layer: Cascading Style Sheets
16. Cascading Style Sheets Fundamentals	273	(24)
CSS in a Nutshell	273	(1)
The Benefits of CSS	274	(1)
How CSS Works	275	(1)
Rule Syntax	275	(3)
Adding Styles to a Document	278	(5)
Key Concepts	283	(8)
Specifying Values	291	(2)
Browser Support	293	(1)
For Further Reading	294	(3)
17. Selectors	297	(10)
Type (Element) Selector	297	(1)
Contextual Selectors	298	(1)
Class and ID Selectors	299	(2)
Attribute Selectors	301	(1)
Pseudoselectors	302	(5)
18. Font and Text Properties	307	(30)
Typography on the Web	307	(3)
Font Family	310	(2)
Font Size	312	(6)
Other Font Settings	318	(4)
Text Transformation (Capitalization)	322	(1)
Text Decoration	323	(2)
Line Height	325	(2)
Text Alignment Properties	327	(5)
Text Spacing	332	(3)
Text Direction	335	(2)
19. Basic Box Properties	337	(18)
The Box Model, Revisited	338	(3)
Width and Height	341	(3)
Margins	344	(3)
Borders	347	(5)
Padding	352	(3)
20. Color and Backgrounds	355	(13)
Foreground Color	355	(2)
Background Color	357	(1)
Background Images	358	(10)
21. Floating and Positioning	368	(24)
Normal Flow	368	(1)
Floating	369	(6)
Positioning Basics	375	(10)
Absolute Positioning	385	(4)
Fixed Positioning	389	(1)
Relative Positioning	390	(2)
22. CSS for Tables	392	(14)
The Essence of Tables	392	(4)
Styling Tables	396	(2)
Borders	398	(3)
Table Layout (Width and Height)	401	(2)
Table Display Values	403	(3)
23. Lists and Generated Content	406	(13)
CSS for Lists	406	(6)
Generated Content	412	(7)
24. CSS Techniques	419	(29)
Centering a Page	419	(2)
Two-Column Layouts	421	(3)
Three-Column Layouts	424	(8)
Boxes with Rounded Corners	432	(4)
Image Replacement	436	(4)
CSS Rollovers	440	(3)
List-Based Navigation Bars	443	(3)
CSS Techniques Resources	446	(2)
25. Managing Browser Bugs: Workarounds, Hacks, and Filters	448	(17)
Working with "Troubled" Browsers	448	(1)
The Browsers	449	(10)
Hack and Workaround Management 101	459	(6)
Part IV. The Behavioral Layer: JavaScript and the DOM
26. Introduction to JavaScript	465	(23)
A Little Background	465	(1)
Using JavaScript	466	(2)
JavaScript Syntax	468	(16)
Event Handling	484	(2)
The Browser Object	486	(1)
Where to Learn More	487	(1)
27. DOM Scripting	488	(27)
A Sordid Past	488	(1)
Out of the Dark Ages	489	(1)
The DOM	489	(2)
Manipulating Documents with the DOM	491	(10)
Working with Style	501	(1)
DOM Scripting in Action	502	(5)
Supplement: Getting Started with Ajax	507	(8)
Part V. Web Graphics
28. Web Graphics Overview	515	(14)
Web Graphic File Formats	515	(2)
Image Resolution	517	(2)
Color on the Web	519	(5)
Web Graphics Production Tips	524	(5)
29. GIF Format	529	(15)
8-Bit Indexed Color	530	(1)
LZW Compression	531	(2)
Interlacing	533	(1)
Transparency	534	(2)
Minimizing GIF File Sizes	536	(5)
Designing GIFs with the Web Palette	541	(3)
30. JPEG Format	544	(8)
24-Bit Color	544	(1)
JPEG Compression	545	(2)
Progressive JPEGs	547	(1)
Creating JPEGs	548	(1)
Minimizing JPEG File Size	548	(4)
31. PNG Format	552	(12)
When to Use PNGs	552	(2)
PNG Features	554	(4)
Platform/Browser Support	558	(1)
Creating PNG Files	559	(2)
PNG Optimization Strategies	561	(2)
For Further Reading	563	(1)
32. Animated GIFs	564	(11)
How They Work	564	(1)
Using Animated GIFs	565	(1)
Tools	565	(1)
Creating Animated GIFs	566	(4)
Optimizing Animated GIFs	570	(5)
Part VI. Media
33. Audio on the Web	575	(20)
Basic Digital Audio Concepts	575	(2)
Using Existing Audio	577	(1)
Preparing Your Own Audio	578	(3)
Streaming Audio	581	(2)
Audio Formats	583	(7)
Choosing an Audio Format	590	(1)
Adding Audio to a Web Page	590	(5)
34. Video on the Web	595	(14)
Basic Digital Video Concepts	595	(1)
Compression	596	(2)
Video File Formats	598	(5)
Adding Video to an HTML Document	603	(6)
35. The Flash Platform	609	(17)
Using Flash on Web Pages	610	(2)
Creating Flash Movies	612	(3)
ActionScript	615	(1)
Adding Flash to a Web Page	616	(6)
Integrating Flash with Other Technologies	622	(1)
The Flash Player	623	(2)
Flash Resources	625	(1)
36. Printing from the Web	626	(15)
Browser Print Mechanisms	626	(1)
Cascading Style Sheets for Print	627	(7)
Portable Document Format (PDF)	634	(3)
Flash Printing	637
Part VII. Appendixes
A. HTML Elements and Attributes	641	(43)
B. CSS 2.1 Properties	684	(38)
C. Character Entities	722	(11)
D. Specifying Color	733	(9)
E. Microformats: Extending (X)HTML	742	(5)
Glossary	747	(10)
Index	757