Web Design in a Nutshell

Completely revised and updated to include the latest web browsers, graphics editors, and authoring tools, a valuable guide encompasses every aspect of designing Web pages and provides new information on web standards, printing, accessibility, Flash, and designing for wireless devices. Original. Intermediate.

Preface; Contents; Conventions Used in This Book; Request for Comments; Acknowledgments; The Web Environment; Chapter 1: Designing for a Variety of Browsers; 1.1 Browsers; 1.2 Browser Usage Statistics; 1.3 Design Strategies; 1.4 Knowing Your Audience; 1.5 Test, Test, Test!; 1.6 The Importance of Standards; Chapter 2: Designing for a Variety of Displays; 2.1 Dealing with Unknown Monitor Resolutions; 2.2 Fixed Versus Flexible Web Page Design; 2.3 Designing “Above the Fold”; 2.4 Monitor Color Issues; 2.5 Alternative Displays; Chapter 3: Web Design Principles for Print Designers; 3.1 The Web Is Not Like Print; 3.2 Typography on the Web; 3.3 Color on the Web; 3.4 Graphics on the Web; Chapter 4: A Beginner’s Guide to the Server; 4.1 Servers 101; 4.2 Unix Directory Structures; 4.3 File Naming Conventions; 4.4 Uploading Documents (FTP); 4.5 File (MIME) Types; Chapter 5: Printing from the Web; 5.1 Browser Print Mechanisms; 5.2 Printer-Friendly HTML Pages; 5.3 Cascading Style Sheets for Printouts; 5.4 Portable Document Format (PDF); 5.5 Flash Printing; Chapter 6: Accessibility; 6.1 The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI); 6.2 Accessibility in Web Technologies; 6.3 Accessibility in Tools; Chapter 7: Internationalization; 7.1 Character Sets; 7.2 HTML 4.01 Language Features; 7.3 Style Sheets Language Features; 7.4 For More Information; Authoring; Chapter 8: HTML Overview; 8.1 The HTML Standard; 8.2 HTML Tags; 8.3 Information Browsers Ignore; 8.4 Document Structure; 8.5 Tips on Good HTML Style; 8.6 HTML Tools; 8.7 HTML Resources in This Book; Chapter 9: Structural HTML Tags; 9.1 Summary of Structural Tags; 9.2 Setting Up an HTML Document; 9.3 Global Settings with the Tag; 9.4 Using Tags; Chapter 10: Formatting Text; 10.1 Summary of Text Tags; 10.2 Working with HTML Text; 10.3 Inline Type Styles; 10.4 and ; 10.5 The Tag; 10.6 Lists; 10.7 Text Layout Techniques with HTML; 10.8 Character Entity References; Chapter 11: Creating Links; 11.1 Summary of Tags Related to Linking; 11.2 Simple Hypertext Links; 11.3 Linking Within a Document; 11.4 Affecting the Appearance of Links; 11.5 Targeting Windows; 11.6 Imagemaps; 11.7 Non-Web Links and Protocols; 11.8 Linking Documents with ; Chapter 12: Adding Images and Other Page Elements; 12.1 Summary of Object Placement Tags; 12.2 Image Basics; 12.3 The Tag and Its Attributes; 12.4 Horizontal Rules; 12.5 Embedded Media Files; 12.6 Java Applets; Chapter 13: Tables; 13.1 Summary of Table Tags; 13.2 Introduction to Tables; 13.3 Basic Table Structure; 13.4 Affecting Table Appearance; 13.5 Table Troubleshooting; 13.6 Tips and Tricks; 13.7 Standard Table Templates; 13.8 Multipart Images in Tables; Chapter 14: Frames; 14.1 Summary of Frame Tags; 14.2 Introduction to Frames; 14.3 Basic Frameset Structure; 14.4 Frame Function and Appearance; 14.5 Targeting Frames; 14.6 Inline (Floating) Frames; 14.7 Frame Design Tips and Tricks; Chapter 15: Forms; 15.1 Summary of Form Tags; 15.2 Introduction to Forms; 15.3 The Basic Form ( ); 15.4 Form Elements; 15.5 New Form Attributes in HTML 4.01; 15.6 Affecting the Appearance of Forms; 15.7 Demystifying CGI; Chapter 16: Specifying Color in HTML; 16.1 Specifying Color by RGB Values; 16.2 Specifying Colors by Name; Chapter 17: Cascading Style Sheets; 17.1 Using Style Sheets; 17.2 How Style Sheets Work; 17.3 Selectors; 17.4 Specifying Values; 17.5 Properties; 17.6 Positioning with Style Sheets; 17.7 What’s New in CSS2; 17.8 Style Sheet Tips and Tricks; 17.9 Browser Support Charts; Chapter 18: Server Side Includes; 18.1 How SSI Is Used; 18.2 SSI and the Server; 18.3 Adding SSI Commands to a Document; 18.4 Using Environment Variables; 18.5 XSSI; 18.6 SSI Commands; 18.7 Include Variables; 18.8 Time Formats for SSI Output; Graphics; Chapter 19: GIF Format; 19.1 GIF87a Versus GIF89a; 19.2 8-Bit Indexed Color; 19.3 GIF Compression; 19.4 When to Use GIFs; 19.5 Tools Overview; 19.6 Interlacing; 19.7 Transparency; 19.8 Minimizing GIF File Sizes; Chapter 20: JPEG Format; 20.1 24-Bit Color; 20.2 JPEG Compression; 20.3 When to Use JPEGs; 20.4 Progressive JPEGs; 20.5 Creating JPEGs; 20.6 Minimizing JPEG File Size; Chapter 21: PNG Format; 21.1 The PNG Story; 21.2 When to Use PNGs; 21.3 Platform/Browser Support; 21.4 8-Bit Palette, Grayscale, and Truecolor; 21.5 PNG Compression; 21.6 Special Features; 21.7 Creating PNG Files; 21.8 PNG Optimization Strategies; 21.9 For Further Reading; Chapter 22: Designing Graphics with the Web Palette; 22.1 Designing with Web-Safe Colors; 22.2 Converting to the Web Palette; 22.3 Web Palette Strategies; 22.4 Color Blenders; 22.5 Where to Learn More; Chapter 23: Animated GIFs; 23.1 How They Work; 23.2 Using Animated GIFs; 23.3 Browser Support; 23.4 Tools; 23.5 Creating Animated GIFs; 23.6 Optimizing Animated GIFs; Multimedia and Interactivity; Chapter 24: Audio on the Web; 24.1 Basic Digital Audio Concepts; 24.2 Using Existing Audio; 24.3 Preparing Your Own Audio; 24.4 Streaming Audio; 24.5 Web Audio Formats; 24.6 Choosing an Audio Format; 24.7 Adding Audio to a Web Page; 24.8 For Further Reading; Chapter 25: Video on the Web; 25.1 Basic Digital Video Concepts; 25.2 Compression; 25.3 Video File Formats; 25.4 Which Format to Choose; 25.5 Adding Video to an HTML Document; 25.6 For Further Reading; Chapter 26: Flash and Shockwave; 26.1 Using Flash on Web Pages; 26.2 Flash Power Tools; 26.3 Creating Flash Movies; 26.4 Adding Flash to a Web Page; 26.5 Integrating Flash with Other Technologies; 26.6 Flash Resources; 26.7 Shockwave for Director; 26.8 Adding Shockwave Movies to a Web Page; 26.9 Director Online Resources; Chapter 27: Introduction to SMIL; 27.1 How SMIL Works; 27.2 SMIL Players; 27.3 SMIL Authoring Tools; 27.4 Writing SMIL; 27.5 For Further Reading; Advanced Technologies; Chapter 28: Introduction to JavaScript; 28.1 JavaScript History; 28.2 JavaScript Basics; 28.3 Sample Scripts; 28.4 Handling Multiple Browsers; Chapter 29: Introduction to DHTML; 29.1 Using DHTML; 29.2 How DHTML Works; 29.3 The Document Object Model; 29.4 Creating Layers; 29.5 DHTML Examples; 29.6 Browser Detection; 29.7 DHTML Tools; 29.8 Where to Learn More; Chapter 30: Introduction to XML; 30.1 Background; 30.2 How It Works; 30.3 XML Document Syntax; 30.4 Document Type Definition (DTD); 30.5 Examples of XML Technology; 30.6 Where to Learn More; Chapter 31: XHTML; 31.1 XHTML Standards Development; 31.2 Creating XHTML 1.0 Documents; 31.3 XHTML Document Declarations; 31.4 Well-Formed XHTML; 31.5 Try It Out; Chapter 32: WAP and WML; 32.1 About WAP; 32.2 Creating WAP Applications; 32.3 Introduction to WML; 32.4 WML Elements and Attributes; 32.5 WAP and WML Resources; Appendixes; HTML Elements; List of Attributes; Deprecated Tags; Deprecated Elements; Deprecated Attributes; Proprietary Tags; Microsoft Internet Explorer Proprietary Tags; Netscape Navigator Proprietary Tags; CSS Support Chart; Notes; Character Entities; Standard Character Entities; Glossary; Colophon;