Web Site Cookbook

This is what I would call an intermediate level guide to web development. But although Doug Addison assumes that you want to create a serious looking site with plenty of professional functionality, I was glad to see that for beginners he shows you how to build one using free tools and with free web hosting and resources.

He starts with the importance of site preparation (planning with wireframes, flowcharts, diagrams) before getting down to the essentials of page design, navigation, colours, breadcrumb trails, and advertising. Each topic is treated in the same way. It's defined as a problem (You want feature X on your site) a technical solution is given, and then he discusses the implications - why you should have this feature; problems to watch out for; and where to find detailed information and free resources.


He provides just enough coding for you to try out his suggestions yourself, but not too much as to make the book over-technical. What he's trying to do is offer an overview which combines the basics of site construction with the more advanced techniques required for optimisation, efficient maintenance, and commercial promotion of a site.

There's a whole chapter on graphics - showing you how to manipulate them, encouraging you to optimise them, and showing you how to protect any on which you wish to maintain your copyright.

This is followed by a really interesting section on the advanced use of links. You might imagine that there's not a lot to be said about linking one page to another, but he shows you how to make the links more effective by choosing your highlighted words more carefully and packing the link with more information.

Next comes a section on interacting with your site visitors using forms, text messaging, and email newsletters. Then he outlines strategies for e-commerce, which centres on establishing security for your customers, protecting your site from fraud, and generating income from traffic and your content - which involves joining affiliate programmes.

The final section of the book deals with site maintenance and trouble-shooting. These are matters such as improving site performance (the Holy Grail) tracking and documenting changes, evaluation, and backing up the site.

If you want to build a site, this will show you all the steps which lie ahead in order to develop something that will be taken seriously. And if you already have a site, it offers suggestions for improvement which will keep you busy for months to come.