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Here it is: the complete list of the Web's best sites for Web page creation

 
Web Design

Downloadable Delight

Web Page DesignWeb Page Design For Designers: Joe Gillespie does not merely write about how to create a good-looking, fast-loading, easily navigable site; he also shows you, through his site's own standard-setting design. Gillespie rose to prominence as architect of the UK Daily Telegraph newspaper's much-admired site, so he understands print on the Web better than almost anyone around. No other Web site so reproduces and expands on the experience of reading a series of brilliant articles in an expensive glossy magazine. Each of his topics - from the profound limitations of Web design, through typography and graphics to "razzamatazz" - gets a definitive treatment. Best of all, Gillespie provides the entire site as a downloadable file which you can install on your hard drive for off-line reading.

Read 'em and weep

Horribly educationalWeb Pages That Suck: Under the motto "Learn Good Design By Looking At Bad Design", academic Vincent Flanders teaches some of the same lessons as Gillespie. But he uses exactly the opposite technique, linking his lessons to weird, ugly, botched sites all over the Web. His page on "Tpyos", for instance, highlights a certain software giant's glowing explanation of a product called Microsoft Pubilsher. You'll also find out why the wrong background colours can get you killed - important knowledge for the novice page creator. And you'll never forget his domain name ...

The Webmaster's Britannica ...

WebreferenceWebreference: Half-encyclopedia, half-magazine and all-class, this sprawling site aims to provide the best possible guide to web site creation. Much of the time it succeeds, with high-quality articles on subjects like web page animation and the relative merits of different search engines, and sub-sites such as the JavaScript Tip of the Week. Its collection of links has no peer.

... the Webmaster's Complete English Usage ...

SunSun Guide to Web Style: Sun human-computer interaction expert Rick Levine sets out the basics of Web site structure, explaining why you should define your audience, why your buttons should look like buttons, why you should only use the right 216 colors in your Web images, and much else besides. (The Yale CAIM Web Style Manual does a similar job.)

... and the Webmaster's Bible

Don't miss thisDavid Siegel's High Five: To many Web designers, this is that battered old favorite that never makes it back to the shelf. And like my kids' favorite, it has a new animal on every page - or at least every link. High Five critiques the best-designed sites on the Web, laying bare the secrets of their art and structure. The collection ranges from flash commercialism (Porsche, Joe Boxer) through fun (Doonesbury, Gabby Cabby) to unrestrained artiness (Fine, typopositive). A new one goes up every Wednesday, which means that every week you get new inspiration.

High Five also links to Siegel's other sites, none of which should be missed. Web design owes more to Siegel than to anyone else. His single-pixel image trick, described on his Web Wonk and Killersites pages, first showed Web designers how to accurately position elements in a browser window; his essay on The Balkanisation of the Web remains a milestone in site philosophy.

 
HTML

*A Beginner's Guide to HTML provides some of the best early instruction on the language of the Web. It starts with can't-fail examples and builds up to more sophisticated effects which include tables and pictures. At about 16 pages printed, it also makes easy reading in bed or on the train.

*Composing Good HTML, a slightly eclectic mix, will widen your understanding of both the code and the medium.

*So, You Want To Make A Web Page! 2.02 may be the best solution for Windows 95 users - a zip-format package which you can read off-line in a standard Web browser. The slightly gimmicky tone and el-cheapo graphics can't disguise the clarity and sheer excellence of the underlying tutorial.

*79 Ways to Build a Better Web brings a surprisingly useful collection of ideas from Windows Sources magazine.

*Project Cool: Teresa Martin and Glenn Davis's site is the place to go if you want inspirational tuition. Davis invented the Cool Site of the Day award before creating a site which ranks on several counts as the best-designed place on the Web. Project Cool's Developer Zone not only takes you through the basics of HTML, but reminds you of just how much HTML can achieve.

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