Website Design Resources and Links
WYSIWYG Editors
- Hosting Providers
Many hosting providers offer a basic editor and/or a site builder package as part of their hosting services. In CPanelX, clicking on a file gives you the option to edit in code view or WYSIWYG view. Be careful! Any edits you make will immediately be ‘live’ - so if you break a page, that is what anybody visiting your site will see until you get it fixed.
The hosting services I offer include BaseKit SiteBuilder. - DreamWeaver
Dreamweaver has become a standard for web designers. It allows you to preview your pages offline before publishing them, and includes many tools and add-ons. A good working knowledge of HTML and CSS is recommended, but you can use the software without it. - Free Alternatives to Dreamweaver
This page reviews various free alternatives to Dreamweaver.
Learning HTML
- w3schools.com
Provides basic information and quick references. includes a ‘Try it’ that lets you enter HTML right on the page and see what the results will be. w3schools also provides Javascript and PHP reference material; it's a really useful site. - HTML Code Tutorial
Tutorial and reference site. A fair amount of advertising.
Testing Your Code
- Firefox with Web Developer and Firebug< is a good place to start. Everything is open source, and the two plugins provide several good tools for validating your html and css or troubleshooting javascript without bogging Firefox down.
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You can check a webpage against the W3C standards here by entering the complete url:
- Google offers free downloads of Page Speed, which provides instant information about issues affecting how quickly your pages load, as well as tools to correct some of the problems.
Online Typography
- The Elements of Typographic Style Applied to the Web
This website takes much of the design information from the classic Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst and translates it into CSS standards. - A List Apart: Typography Matters
The List Apart is full of useful information. This link takes you to the typography page.
Books for Website Coding and Design
(These are books I actually own, use, and can recommend...)
HTML for the World Wide Web (4th ed)
Elizabeth Castro
Very good introduction to HTML. Includes a well-written index, which makes it a great quick reference when you can't remember how a particular tag should be structured. Touches on CSS and styles but does not handle it in-depth. I loan this and the first edition frequently. Sadly, it appears it may be out of print.
HTML, XHTML & CSS (6th ed)
Elizabeth Castro
Good general overview of HTML, XHTML and CSS. Like almost all Peachpit books, it includes an extensive index, which makes it very useful as a quick reference once you've absorbed the material. If you're local to the Pioneer Valley, you may also have fun playing 'where is that' with some of the images she uses in her examples.
HTML5 & CSS3 Visual QuickStart Guide (7th ed)
Elizabeth Castro and Bruce Hyslop
Not available yet, but can be pre-ordered. Obviously, I don't have this one yet, but expect it to be a solid update to Liz's earlier books on HTML and CSS.
Designing Interfaces
Jenifer Tidwell
Solid introduction to designing interfaces for either software applications or websites. Clearly written, with plenty of graphics to demonstrate what is being discussed. Covers the logical division of information, page layout, form layout and navigation. Definitely a book to consider reading if you're building content-rich websites or multi-screen applications.
Don't Make Me Think (2nd ed)
Steve Krug
This is a fairly quick read but it makes several good points. After reading this book I realized what had been bothering me about my own site's navigation and redesigned it so now it's easier to find the in-depth information (especially in the bookkeeping section) that was previously buried. And yes, I realize my site could probably go much further in that regard; I need to read it again.
