Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML Book Cover
Do you know about the book which made the Head First Series immensely popular? Yes? Well, its the Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML.
I’d once borrowed the book from my college library but never came to finish it except for the first few introductory chapters.
I read raving reviews of Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML as being one of the best introductory books on web designing.
Some things I like about Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML
User-friendly – As with all Head First books, this one was not different. Unlike most computer related books this one’s not boring enought to put you to sleep. They’ve got all these different characters in the books which keep you engrossed not only in the content but all their stories that advance with the content.
Hands-on – One of the most striking features of this book is that it takes a very hands-on approach to teaching the HTML, CSS & XHTML concepts. This is pretty neat stuff to get you started into developing your very own web pages & websites without having to learn everything of the subject first. You can just go along with the book and you’ll just be fine.
Lots of pictures & screenshots – Computer programming & language books tend to get pretty boring when you have to stare a lot of codes for extended periods of time but not this one. Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML includes a lot of hand drawn pictures, illustrations and screenshots so that you’ve got a reason to turn that page.
Learning + fun – Learning something can become really fun if it includes “F-U-N” and challenge you to do something you learned a few moments ago. The book contains crosswords, tick the right choice and a lot of do-it-yourself kind of things which not only tests you but presses you to think about what you just learnt.
The book teaches one of the most basic (and very important) thing about web design – keeping HTML, XHTML (structure) & CSS (presentation) different while starting web development. Very basic but very few stick to this principle.
Things I didn’t like about Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML
There are but few things I really didn’t like about  the book. During the start, the book elaborates how to create a text file on Mac as well as on Windows – WITH screenshots! I mean really?
Web design isn’t something what a complete computer newbie would mind learning then why fill the valuable space with such fluff when Start > Programs > Accessories > Notepad will suffice?
If you’ve always wanted to learn web design for professional or personal use then I’d HIGHLY RECOMMEND Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML.
Even you’re an experienced web developer designing sites professionally the book can brush-up your skills or better yet introduce to you some best-practices.
image courtesy:Â arturopuente
