Archives by Category
Clout, 12/11/2011
CMS
Digging Into Wordpress, 02/19/2011
Digging into Wordpress is an excellent guide for anyone who needs to get up to speed with Wordpress quickly and (relatively) painlessly.
Textpattern Solutions, 02/22/2008
Worth buying if you’re new or somewhat new to Textpattern.
Color
Color Design Workbook, 12/19/2009
Worth picking up a cheap copy to flip through, but this book won’t provide an education in color.
CSS
CSS3 for Web Designers, 12/13/2010
Dan Cederholm’s A Book Apart book will inspire you to use new CSS3 features to add creative details to “surprise and delight”.
CSS Mastery, 01/28/2010
This is an essential book for those learning CSS who want to get up to speed quickly, and is useful for experienced developers as well.
Handcrafted CSS, 11/28/2009
This compact volume on CSS is an excellent addition to a web designer’s library.
Design
The New Big Book of Layouts, 10/29/2010
This book is nicely laid out, and contains generally high quality design examples from all over the world, but it’s better for print than the web.
Designers
Design Dialogues, 05/31/2007
Fascinating interviews with a wide range of designers.
Findability/SEO
Building Findable Websites, 09/23/2009
An extremely useful book which I recommend to web developers as well as site owners and web content writers.
Graphic Design
The Information Design Handbook, 05/15/2010
This book is a decent introduction to information design, but shouldn’t be purchased as a manual or reference volume.
The Big Book of Green Design, 11/29/2009
A broad survey of designs, variously qualified as being “green.”
Blue Note: Album Cover Art, 10/15/2008
An invaluable source of inspiration.
HTML
HTML5 For Web Designers, 07/13/2010
Jeremy Keith takes us on a whirlwind tour of the history and features of HTML5. An excellent introduction for designers/developers.
Microformats Made Simple, 03/27/2010
If you prefer to read a book rather than sift through info on Microformats online, this is the one to buy.
Microformats, 03/27/2010
This book is bulkier than it needs to be, and some information is outdated, but it does reference many useful resources.
HTML Mastery, 05/09/2009
An excellent book, worth reading and reference for even the jaded html junkie.
Javascript
Bulletproof AJAX, 06/16/2007
This is a short book, and should be considered a primer to be read before diving in to more project-oriented books on AJAX.
DOM Scripting, 03/25/2007
Essential reading for anyone getting started using javascript (library or not).
JQuery
jQuery Fundamentals, 10/20/2011
A well-presented online introduction to javascript and jQuery that may reveal the shape of code books to come.
JQuery: Novice to Ninja, 10/24/2010
This book, which takes a project-based approach, is recommended for front-end developers who want to start using JQuery in their website projects.
JQuery Enlightenment, 09/06/2010
Cody Lindley’s JQuery Enlightenment is recommended reading for any designer/developer who finds himself enhancing sites or web apps with JQuery on a regular basis.
jQuery Cookbook, 02/10/2010
A concisely-written companion to the JQuery library, excellent for learning and reference.
Learning JQuery, 01/04/2010
The better of two books I’ve read on JQuery.
JQuery in Action, 12/07/2009
I have two books on jQuery, my javascript library of choice. In this post, I review jQuery in Action, by Bear Bibeault and Yehuda Katz.
Mobile Development
Responsive Web Design, 12/11/2011
The most useful nuggets in this book can be gleaned by reading up on media queries and mobile-first design online, then experimenting on your own.
Master Mobile Web Apps with jQuery Mobile, 09/11/2011
This book is well worth the money for any developers who want to get started quickly with jQuery mobile, but also go beyond the built-in look and functionality.
Performance
High Performance Web Sites, 02/17/2010
Essentially Yahoo!‘s Best Practices for Speeding Up Your Web Site, in handy book format.
Photography
Photography for the Web, 10/03/2010
While Photography for the Web provides clear explanations of photo fundamentals, it offers little or nothing specifically for the web designer.
Software
Sams Teach Yourself Google Analytics in 10 Minutes, 12/06/2010
For many web designers who need to be able to advise clients knowledgeably, this book will be sufficient to get up to speed with Google Analytics.
Typography
Typewise, 04/17/2010
Typewise illuminates some of the fundamental differences between print design and web design.
Thinking with Type, 11/28/2009
A thought-provoking and well-written book, but not a complete manual of typography.
The Complete Manual of Typography, 05/14/2009
This book is an excellent read and reference volume for any designer, print or web.
Typography Now: The Next Wave, 03/29/2009
Worth having for the pieces that still look fresh and interesting today, and those that decidedly don’t.
Pioneers of Modern Typography, 08/01/2007
This book shows striking examples of European avant-garde typography from between the wars.
Stop Stealing Sheep & Find Out How Type Works, 07/15/2007
There is little useful information this “unique and lively guidebook”.
Usability
Rocket Surgery Made Easy, 02/25/2010
Steve Krug’s new book will convince you that you should and can do usability testing on the websites you build.
UX Design
A Project Guide to UX Design, 04/29/2010
This book is an excellent introduction to the field of user experience design, and provides a wealth of references for further reading.
Web Content
Content Strategy for the Web, 03/04/2011
Recommended for those who want become “Content Strategists” or have landed in that role within large organization, not for the small-scale website owner.
Web Design
Ordering Disorder, 01/10/2011
If you aren’t familiar with grid principles or applying them to the web, this book is a good starting point, but look elsewhere for help with implementation.
Web Standards Solutions, 05/08/2010
Unless you or someone you love has not yet embraced the basics of standards-based web development, you can safely skip this book.
Web Standards Creativity, 05/09/2009
Interesting insight into various web designers’ approaches, hampered by awful design.
Web Development
HTML and CSS Web Standards Solutions, 03/19/2011
HTML and CSS Web Standards Solutions is a superb starting point for anyone needing to learn (or teach) web design from the very beginning.
Hardboiled Web Design, 01/25/2011
Whether or not you agree with the “hardboiled” methodology, this book is a good resource on HTML5 markup, ARIA roles, and CSS3, and will make you re-examine conventional web design wisdom.
Database Design for Mere Mortals, 07/12/2010
Essential reading for anyone needing to design, build, or interact with a relational database, regardless of specific software.
Website Owner's Manual, 06/21/2010
Website designers and website owners alike will benefit from reading this book.
Designing with Progressive Enhancement, 03/20/2010
A must-read for developers of online applications or other sites with significant user interaction.