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Introduction
Finding other books
Titles:
 
 

Introduction


These are books I recommend about Advanced Web Design; they are mostly aimed at advanced developers or people responsible for large-scale web sites. Though even 'large-scale' is a flexible concept: one 20-page site can be much more complicated than another 100-page site, so you might want to have a look at the Basic Web Design page and other pages in this Bookstore section as well. These books are about how to get from idea to a usable, navigable and effective web site. And what lies beyond.

 
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Information Architecture for the World Wide Web
(Amazon.co.uk)

by Louis Rosenfeld, Peter Morville
Paperback 1st edition (March 1998)
O'Reilly & Associates
ISBN: 1565922824

Background

 (In my library) Of course I'm biased by the books I already have. By now, when I see an O'Reilly book I simply think "This must be good". Well, this book just strengthened my preconceptions: It really is excellent. This deceivingly slim volume has lots of content and has become a classic in the field.

You can read an excerpt from chapter 6 ("Designing the Search Interface") before deciding you must have this one (I did exactly that!).
Get it!

Lois Wakeman commented:

Particularly strong on principles for organising, labelling, navigating and searching for information on a web site.  to menu

 
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Designing Large-Scale Web Sites: A Visual Design Methodology
(Amazon.co.uk)

by Darrell Sano
Paperback (February 1996)
John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 047114276X

 (In my library) Beyond graphic design: a large web site must be more than a thick glossy brochure. Information design is the focus here, while usability and user interface design play a major role. The book provides a methodology, covering the complete development process from the setting of objectives through implementation.  to menu

 
cover
Multimedia and Hypertext: The Internet and Beyond
(Amazon.co.uk)

by Jakob Nielsen
Paperback - 480 pages (February 1995)
AP Professional
ISBN: 0125184085

Background

Jakob Nielsen publishes his bi-weekly Alertbox columns about (mostly) web site usability on his own site; they are often eye-openers and if you like those as much as I do, I'm sure you'll like this book as well.  to menu

 
cover
Elements of Web Design, 2nd Edition: The Designer's Guide to a New Medium
(Amazon.co.uk)

by Darcy Dinucci, Maria Giudice, Lynne Stiles
Paperback - 240 pages (November 1999)
Peachpit Press
ISBN: 0201696983

This book is clearly aimed at the graphical designer learning to deal with a new medium. Take it from me: you have to unlearn a lot of things before you can learn all the new things you need to know: I see way too many pages that treat a web page like a piece of paper; and it doesn't work. The book's format illustrates this subtly: in the print world we're used to pages at a portrait format; this book has the landscape format corresponding to most people's browser window. Although I don't really have a graphical design background, I do have some experience in the field. I'd love to have this book myself.  to menu

 
cover
Secrets of Successful Web Sites: Project Management on the World Wide Web
(Amazon.co.uk)

by David S. Siegel
Paperback - 304 pages (August 1997)
Hayden Books
ISBN: 1568303823

Background

Funny, really: I've seen David Siegel haters turn into fans overnight after getting this book. Even if you don't like the visual approach he advocates in the second edition of his other book Creating Killer Web Sites, he does apparently understand the process of creating a web site. When a corporate web site comprises more than a dozen or so pages, project management becomes all-important and this is what this book is about. But Siegel continues to cause controversy - so maybe you should find out for yourself!

David Siegels' companion web site for this book includes page templates and other resources for building a project site. But get the book first, so you know what to do with them!

Jerry Muelver commented:

His site map graphics are ugly. I liked the concept of a project site -- it parallels my approach to the production of technical documentation. The job negotiation and management stuff is entertaining, but not original. It seems like a rehash of the Jerry Del La Femina stuff on advertising, in the 70's. Worse, he views a web site only as a mildly interactive ad -- content for display, not for personal enlargement.  to menu

 
cover
Philip and Alex's Guide to Web Publishing
(Amazon.co.uk)

by Philip Greenspun
Paperback - 608 pages 1st edition (April 1999)
Morgan Kaufmann Publishers
ISBN: 1558605347

Background

 (In my library) I'll admit it, I picked up this book because it's simply beautiful! In the preface Philip Greenspun explains how together with the people at Morgan Kaufman, he set out to make the world's first coffee table computer book - and he's succeeded admirably. But when I started leafing through the book I soon found there's a lot more to this book than glossy paper and pretty (and often witty) photographs on every other page or so. In an anecdotal style, Greenspun treats the whole field of web publishing and web-based services, from online communities, to publicizing your site, sites that are really programs and sites that are really databases, and much more, all from a background of hands-on experience. Sit back on your couch with it, and enjoy; you're bound to learn something (or a lot) as well. Useful tips, for instance:

Final tip
Reorganize your file system after you're listed in all the Web directories, after folks at other sites have linked to articles on your server, and after seach engines have discovered your site. That way, users will be sure to get "404 Not Found" messages after finding your site in Yahoo or WebCrawler.

(So who's Alex? That's the dog, who of course has a personal website of his own.)
Get it!  to menu

 
cover
Designing Easy-to-use Websites: A hands-on Approach to Structuring Successful Websites
(Amazon.co.uk)

by Vanessa Donelly
Paperback - 429 pages 1st edition (December 15, 2000)
Addison-Wesley Pub Co
ISBN: 0201674688

 (In my library) The 'Easy-to-use' in the title is somewhat misleading since you won't find much about usability per se. Instead, the book promotes a rigorous approach to develop a website, not unlike a well-run software development project (only with continuous updates). The idea is that usability is much more than layout and link colors, it comes naturally from a well-planned database-driven site using a content management system that scales well, raises productivity, and dramatically reduces operating budgets. UML is used throughout the book as a method, with copious schemas illustrating concepts. The accompanying CD is a disappointment, though: you'd expect at least a trial version of a program to make all those UML schemas, but all it contains is trial versions of IBM's Homepage Builder and PerfectPhoto.

Lois Wakeman commented:

A good all-round introduction, especially useful for designers of large sites and company intranets. Readable, practical and informative.  to menu

 
 

Finding other books


You can use these search forms to search Amazon.com's or Amazon.co.uk's catalog for books, software, and more. And mail let me know what you missed so I can add it!

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