“Live Appendix” Links
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January 2005 Note: I'm happy that my book continues to sell well, four years after its publication. I think the majority of the content, which has to do with the process of creating a successful web site, still holds true today. However, the resources listed in the book's Appendix, which appear here as live links, are woefully out of date. The bad news is that I don't have time to keep this list up to date, sorry!
If a link is dead, try the DesignGeek pages (lots of links to resources there) or contact me directly and let me know what you're looking for.
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The final section of Professional Web Site Design is a 14-page appendix containing an annotated listing of the cream of the crop, the best resources I know of for those involved in creating web sites. The Appendix is reproduced here.
These web sites, listservs (e-mail discussion lists), books and software are grouped and sequenced to roughly match the book's chapters. Any resource which had a URL reference in the book has been linked to that URL and will be checked regularly for accuracy. Since URLs are fluid entities, readers who want to know the resources' current locations should keep this page bookmarked.
Appendix format and notes
This Appendix starts out with a "General Resources" section that lists basic reference resources, the ones that will form the foundation for your web work. Subsequent topic-specific entries are arranged more-or-less chronologically, following the Web development process outlined in the book, except for some rearranging I did in a few special cases to keep things more logical. For example, though I mention HTML in various chapters, I’ve grouped all my favorite HTML resources into one section.
Any software I recommend is available for both the Macintosh and Windows platforms unless otherwise noted. I did not include version numbers nor prices since these change so often. However, you can always find a link to the latest version of a software program by entering its name at either VersionTracker (Macintosh) or WindowsTracker (Windows).
1. GENERAL RESOURCES [top]
Books
In addition to this book (ha-ha) and the manuals that came with your Web-authoring and image editing software, here is what you need to fill out your resource bookshelf:
Web Design in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference
© 1999 Jennifer Niederst (O’Reilly & Associates Inc.)
While this book is a bit long in the tooth (she wrote it in 1998), it’s one of the most useful ones around for the more technical side of Web design, and most of the information is still applicable to sites you’re working on today. A second edition is supposed to come out sometime this year.
Jennifer provides complete reference documentation, clear explanations and plenty of examples for the nitty-gritty details on almost everything you'll need to know to code a site, including: coding for different browsers and displays; HTML (including tables, frames, forms and server-side includes); graphics (including Web palette, GIF animations and transparency, progressive JPEGs, PNG format); audio and video Web formats, coding in JavaScript, Cascading Style Sheets, DHTML, XML and Internationalization.
Visual Quickstart Guide: HTML 4 for the World Wide Web
© 2000 Elizabeth Castro (Peachpit Press)
A book even my mother could understand (were she so inclined), this book goes through every tag in the HTML 4 pantheon, one tag per page. Each page’s explanation shows a “View Source” and its companion “how it looks in the browser” screenshots of how a tag works, accompanied by step-by-step instructions for using it and lots of tips. This is the book I turn to first when I need a reminder of how to turn off frame borders or how to set the tab order in a form.
Designing Web Graphics.3
©1999 Lynda Weinman (New Riders Publishing)
Lynda’s Designing Web Graphics (the “.3” indicates the third edition) is the definitive guide to creating the best-looking, quickest-loading Web graphics possible. In pixel-level detail she illuminates the ins-and-outs of file compression, transparency, anti-aliasing and basically everything there is to know about the GIF and JPEG file formats. In this latest edition, she also discusses techniques for using the latest Web graphics programs — Adobe ImageReady and Macromedia Fireworks — as well as Adobe Photoshop and JASC PaintShopPro.
Lynda Weinman is a California-based graphic designer and faculty member of Pasadena’s Art Center College of Design. Early in her Web design career, she came up with the concept of the “Web safe pallette” which is now required knowledge for any Web designer.
Web design portals
A portal is a Web site that provides original content and edited, comprehensive lists of links to other Web sites’ content for a particular topic. The aim of a portal is to develop a user community (and to sell banner ads based on the user community demographics, of course).
Here are the best portals I’ve found for Web design, ones that have found a home at the top of my bookmark list. They contain up-to-date news, tutorials and tips for just about every topic listed in this Appendix; user forums, reviews and links to relevant software, books, and magazines, and more.
Note: The topic-specific Web resources I provide in the remainder of the Appendix are supplemental to the information provided in these portals. In other words, look here first!
WebMonkey
CNet Web Builder
Web Developer’s Virtual Library
About.com’s Web Design
About.com’s HTML/XML
Web design listservs
Toiling away at a Web site project can be an isolating experience. Seldom is there anyone in the office who can understand, let alone help you out with the numerous frustrations and inexplicable errors that occur daily in the development and production process. For the same reason, no one’s around to congratulate you for having solved the problem!
Joining a Web design listserv (e-mail discussion group) is the answer. You can post messages asking for help with a coding problem, a referral for a Web host vendor or CGI programmer, or even to request a “site check” from members with a particular browser version. Answers typically come in minutes or a couple hours at most.You also learn a lot from other members’ questions and responses to them.
To subscribe to a listserv, follow the instructions at their web pages:
The Web-Design List
HTML Writers Guild (numerous lists)
2. SETTING UP YOUR SOFTWARE [top]
Software
Virtual PC (Windows emulation for the Mac)
Connectix
SoftWindows (Windows emulation for the Mac)
FWB Software, LLC
Executor (Mac emulation for Windows)
ARDI
URLManager Pro (Shareware bookmark organizer, Mac only)
Alco Blom, author
3. SETTING UP YOUR ACCOUNTS [top]
Web resources
DSLReports (find and read ratings of local DSL/Cable vendors)
AOL’s “Bring Your Own Access” billing plan
America Online
The List (find local dial-up ISPs and Web Hosts)
ICANN list of approved Domain Name Registration companies
4. SITE ARCHITECTURE [top]
Books
Information Architecture for the World Wide Web
© 1998 Rosenfeld & Morville (O’Reilly & Associates, Inc.)
Designing Web Usability: The Practice of Simplicity
© 1999 Jakob Nielsen (New Riders Publishing)
Web resources
Alert Box: Current Issues in Web Usability (Jakob Nielsen)
5. TARGET AUDIENCE CAPABILITIES [top]
Web resources
Research Statistics on Web Usage:
The Internet Index (free)
Internet Statistics (free)
Gartner Interactive (pay)
6. DESIGN PROTOTYPING [top]
Software
Adobe Photoshop, Adobe PageMaker, Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Systems Inc.
JASC PaintShop Pro (Windows only)
JASC Software
CorelDraw, Corel Photo-Paint
Corel Corporation
QuarkXPress
Quark, Inc.
Fetch (Mac-only FTP program)
Darthmouth College
CuteFTP (Windows-only FTP program)
GlobalSCAPE, Inc.
Web resources
Web Page Design for Designers (layout, color, typography issues)
7. HTML REFERENCE AND TUTORIALS [top]
Web resources
W3C (World Wide Web Consortium)
HTML v3.2 specifications (1997)
HTML v4.0 specifications (1998)
HTML v4.01 specifications (1999)
XHTML 1.0 specifications (2000)
W3C’s HTML Validator (checks your URL’s code against latest approved specs)
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (accessible to people with disabilities)
On-line Tutorials (HTML and more):
Tips and Tricks.com
Joe Barta’s Page Tutor
Designing for Multiple Browsers:
CSS compatibility chart (from WebReview.com)
DHTML cross-browser tutorial
Campaign for Accessible Site Design (accessible by any browser)
8. WEB GRAPHICS [top]
Software
Adobe Photoshop/ImageReady, Illustrator
Adobe Systems Inc.
Macromedia FireWorks, Freehand
Macromedia
Web resources
Web Graphics 101
Bandwidth Conservation Society (GIFs and JPEGs techniques)
The Browser-Safe Color Pallete (Lynda Weinman)
9. CONTENT CONVERSION [top]
Software
Microsoft Word
Microsoft Corp.
MacLinkPlus Deluxe (Mac file translations of Windows files), and
Conversions Plus (Windows file translations of Mac files)
DataViz, Inc.
BeyondPress (Quark XTension for converting to HTML, Mac only)
Extensis Products Group
OmniPage Pro (OCR program)
ScanSoft, Inc.
10. WEB AUTHORING PROGRAMS [top]
Software
GoLive
Adobe Systems, Inc.
DreamWeaver
Macromedia, Inc.
HomeSite (Windows only)
Allaire Corp.
Web resources
GoLive tutorials/tips:
Online training videos
GoLive Heaven
GoLive Headquarters
GoLive Talk (e-mail discussion group)
DreamWeaver tutorials/tips:
DreamWeaver Etc.
DreamWeaver Depot
DreamWeaver Talk (e-mail discussion group)
HomeSite tutorials/tips:
HomeSite User Guide
Unofficial HomeSite Repository
11. SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZING [top]
Web resources
Search Engine Positioning Tutorial
How to Use HTML META Tags
Submit It! Search Engine Tips
12. ADDING GOODIES [top]
Software
LiveMotion (creates Flash format files), and
Acrobat (PDF files)
Adobe Systems Inc.
Flash, Shockwave (created in Director)
Macromedia
Web resources
JavaScript:
Cut-N-Paste JavaScript
WebMonkey JavaScript Code Library
JavaScript FAQ
Joe Barta’s JavaScript tutorial
CGI Scripts:
The CGI Resource Index (pre-made CGI’s)
CGI 101 (online class, tips, scripts)
Sound and Video:
Multimedia Web Pages
QuickTime authoring tutorials
Real Networks’ Streaming Media primer
Streaming Media World
Flash:
Flashfever.com
Flashzone
Shockwave:
Web page code for embedding Shockwave movies
Streaming Shockwave
Shockwave content showcase
Java:
The Java Boutique (free applets, tutorials)
Java Spigots (free applets, tutorials)
Acrobat PDFs:
Pure PDF
Planet PDF
Shopping Carts/Ecommerce:
EcomScope (complete list of 3rd-party products, reviewed)
DXStorm (great shopping cart)
OPPs (Other People's Programs):
Remotely-hosted CGI scripts (calendars, chat boards, etc.)
ToolZONE “Clip-ons”
Free-n-Cool
13. BROWSER TESTING [top]
Web resources
Browser Archives (all current and previous browsers for downloading)
Browser Watch
14. THE SITE GOES LIVE [top]
Web Resources
Rouge & Blanc
Moet & Chandon
15. SITE PROMOTION [top]
Software
WebPosition Gold (search engine optimizer software), FirstPlace Software, Inc.
PromotionSoftware.com/
Web resources
Search Engine ranking tips/links:
Search Engine Watch (submission tips, news, research)
JimWorld/Virtual Promote (promotion tips and links)
The 1000.com (1,000 places to submit your site)
Banner Exchanges:
LinkExchange (largest banner network)
Lists of other Banner Exchanges
E-Mail listservs and E-zines (searchable database):
List Universe
The Liszt
Newsgroups/USENET:
GoogleGroups (complete archive of newsgroup posts)
(used to be Deja.com)
Start your own listserv/e-zine:
eGroups
Topica
ListBot is no longer in business.
Awards:
List of Award Sites (submit your URL)
16. ANALYZING WEB LOGS [top]
Software (log analyzers)
Commercial software:
HitBox Pro
Web Side Story
WebTrends Log Analyzer
WebTrends Corp.
FunnelWeb Professional
Active Concepts
Freeware:
Analog
Stephen Turner, Univ. of Cambridge Statistical Laboratory
(There are many more, but Analog has a huge following)
Web resources
A Web Log Sample Explained
Analyzing Web Logs tutorial
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