Simple yet Thorough
Through simple illistrations and small code snippets this book covers pretty much what one would need to know in order to create great web 2.0 sites.
Excellent
This book is the 2nd one by Dan Cederholm that I bought and can be used as "Advanced Chapters" to his short but overall excellent "Bulletproof Web Design" (ISBN-10: 0321346939). These two combined will surely set your brains straight about standards-based HTML/CSS development.
It explains how to make your markup short. It shows why using purposeful HTML tags (such as "label") is preferred to using generic divs with classes. It destroys new and "hip" myth about tables being "taboo" for modern HTML.
Great introduction
I whish I'd read this one sooner. This book is a great introduction to the fabulous world of web standards. This is not, however the right book if you are already an experienced coder of standardized (X)HTML. Unlike books such as CSS Mastery (Budd, Moll, Collison), this book contains little of the "oh, right - I had completely forgot about that" tips, that experienced users could use.
If you have done little web standards (X)HTML and would like a good place to start, this is absolutely a book I would reccomend. If you know your web standards, and like them too, I would reccomend looking elsewhere.
Seriously speaking!
Another winner - besides the clearly and coherently techniques illustrated in this book, what I'll take away from the enlightening experience is how to design sites that are very maintenance-friendly, optimized for speed, and reusability-friendly. Again, the author teaches how to avoid code redundancy by partitioning styles from raw markup, when necessary. For those who are doing any serious site development, this book [along with Bulletproof Web Design] should be a first read. Very seriously speaking!
Great book, very practical information
I highly recommend this book to anyone who designs and builds web sites. Although the title would have you believe its simply a reference book its much more of a how-to for professionally building your sites. The focus on standardization isn't to limit your creativity or force you into a particular design mode. It means encompassing the best and the WC3's most recommended practices which ensures the long term compatibility of your work.
I've only been working on websites for the last year and so far most of the materials that I've learned from would outline this or that aspect of (X)html or CSS but never really synthesize that into practical use. It was akin to learning how to use a drill, saw and level in a carpentry shop but never shown what they could produce or how they could build something together. However, this book shows through examples and revisions of unstandardized web pages how to write clean and effective code and style sheets. Essentially bringing many of the tools you've learned together for practical use.
If you're looking to improve and ensure the longevity of your web designs then definitely pick this book up. Its one of those rare items that when you find it you wish you would have come across it that much sooner.
