When I first received the book, "Building Better Web Pages" by Rebecca Frances Rohan, and read the back cover, I wasn't sure if it could deliver on its promises. This author says she will show you how to make your Web site do more without learning programming, make your site professional looking without going to design school, save time and money and work smarter instead of harder. (Didn't Dilbert's boss say that once?) This seemed like a pretty tall order and I was skeptical at first, but I was going to keep an open mind.
The topics range from page layout and site navigation to images and sound, and even touches on using pre-made Java applets, Javascripts and plug-ins. Most of the focus is on the overall look and feel of the Web Site and creating and modifying images. Although this isn't an HTML tutorial, there are refreshers of some of the pertinent tags throughout the book.
One of the strongest parts of the book is the section on page elements, layout and navigation. Although much of what is stated in the book is common sense, it is all too often ignored by many Web Sites. Also, throughout the book, the author stresses standards. She believes that Web Sites should be accessible to everyone, no matter what Operating System or Browser they are using.
Another thing I really liked about this book was the first chapter. The section that discusses HTML standards and browsers should be a must-read for anyone involved with developing a web presence, not just those doing the actual HTML coding, but everyone contributing, including management.
Also, the chapter on Web marketing and dealing with the press has information not only for Web Developers, but for anyone who would need to send press releases to the media. In fact, the chapter has good insights about dealing with the press in general, something of which we in the OS/2 community could probably do better.
There are also well over a hundred links to images, sounds and Java applets, as well as applications for HTML editing and Image manipulation for most platforms, including OS/2.
On the down side, there were a few places where Ms. Rohan got a little too simplistic, such as describing how to type an asterisk. This was most likely done for clarity's sake. However, she didn't do that often enough for it to be a real distraction.
One thing that put me off at first was that occasionally, especially when discussing images, the author spends a great deal of time explaining how to do things on the Windows platform and using Windows Applications. However, she does say that things should be similar to other applications on other platforms. As I looked closer at what she was writing, I found that, although it would take a bit of work, most of the techniques she described could be used with the image design software on any platform.
The main target of this book is the intermediate Web Designer, as well as providing useful information for beginner and advanced developers. Although this is definitely not a book for beginners, I think it is something that everyone involved in Web Site Development would find useful. This book does not cover Web programming, such as CGI, Java, Javascript, etc., but I think the person who will get the most use out of it is someone who came to the Web from a programming background.
I would say that this book delivered on its promise to help build better Web pages. The author's style of writing was very easy to read. She could also be humorous at times, without being overly "cute." Although this isn't the only book you should have if you are a Web Developer, it should definitely be included in your collection.