Hands on HTML
by Greg Robertson
If you read my Beginning HTML articles, you'll know that HTML really isn't difficult to learn. This book takes that fact and guides you through the steps of building a Web site, and in the process teaches you HTML.
This book is great for someone who is just starting out with HTML and doesn't want to spend even more money on software to write the Web pages. In the first chapter you learn that you can use basic software that comes standard on most computers in order to build the Web page.
Chapter two starts you right in on building a Web site. It is a simple site, no real frills (tables, frames, etc.), but it is the perfect way to start learning HTML. You learn how to decide what to put on your pages, how to find your audience, and determining the goals of your site. Within four more chapters, you will have learned the basic elements of HTML and put together a simple site.
But the book doesn't stop with the basic Web site. Once you are comfortable with your site as it is, the book takes you through more advanced features. It covers frames, tables, image maps, forms, animated GIFs, streaming video and more. The final section helps you to add Cascading Style Sheets, JavaScript, and dHTML.
One of the things I like the best is the way the book helps you to build an actual site rather than just leading you through the motions without any tangible results. After just two chapters you will have the beginnings of a Web page, and after five you'll have a complete site. The only problem is that the chapter on uploading and promotion is the last one. This was probably the logical location for the chapter, but it leaves you hanging if you want to show off your site before you've added all the fancy features in the preceding chapters.
If you are looking for a good, hands on book to teach you how to build a Web site and learn HTML at the same time, then this is the perfect book for you. This book, and others like it, is available on the HTML @ About.com Bookstore.
Other Book and Software Reviews
