Reviews for Bulletproof Web Design: Improving Flexibility and Protecting Against Worst-Case Scenarios with XHTML and CSS

1. Great intermetiate resource

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, November 12th, 2009

   Dan Cederholm's book is a great read for intermediate web designers and developers. I note the latter as one of the book's main themes, the separation of content and presentation, straddles these disciplines, and practicioners of either will benefit from a greater understanding of the other.
   Through a series of worked examples and chapters accessibly organised by 'components' of a web page, Cederholm introduces and illuminates issues of accessibility, scalability and future-proofing of websites which are sure to save you maintenance headaches later. His comprehensive explanations make his processes very easy to follow along with, and help the reader develop a general appreciation for accessibility and standards-compliance as an attitude for page design.
   The author's years of experience shine through in his practical tips and hacks, yet he writes with humility, sincereity and a touch of humour. As a technical book, this is both an educational asset and a treat to read.

2. Talk about code bloat...pot... kettle... black

   Rated 3 out of 5 stars, July 12th, 2009

   While in general this is a good, well written - and intentioned - book, the fact is its contents could have easily be laid out in a book half its size. And considering the author spends a good deal of his time complaining about the code bloat involved in more traditional forms of layout, I think it is a bit rich, and in no way genuine.
   
   As you read, notice how the code samples are quite pointlessly repeated, so that an entire page will be taken up just to show the addition of one line of css. This is touted as an intermediate/advanced book, so why in some parts is the reader treated like a schoolkid.
   
   Also notice the pointless amount of images (though about half are well laid out and pertinant) and the irritating way of soaking up more space between chapters.
   
   Then later in chapter 9 'Putting It All Together' there is far to much pointless repetition, and the website which is pieced together there is hardly an inspiring piece of design, or layout, with a very poor menu system. The website is however quite flexible and certainly a building block. Nevertheless, with 290 pages to play with I expected a hell of a lot more.
   
   If you care about how your site is rendered in Opera and IE5, or in browsers with image loading turned off, or unable to render CSS, then this book might be for you. If you are aiming at the IE crowd, well there are one or two hacks there, but you may want to look elsewhere.
   
   I give it three stars (2.5 really) because it is well written in parts and has great things to say about flexible design.
   However the general layout of the book seems more concerned with soaking up the space to try and make the book out to be more than it actually is, which considering what Dan Cederholm is trying to preach, leaves a real bad taste in the mouth.
   
   Not a complete waste of all the paper it takes up to present its argument of code bloat clogging up the internet, but a five star book it is decidedly not.
   

3. Bulletproof Web design

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, June 12th, 2009

   This is a very good book, which addresses accessibility, flexibility and a whole lot more. It has examples which shows a sample site, and a rework of the site (bulletproof approach). it's all about best practices in web design. I love it! As a beginner with a knowledge of css, this is a great book for me.

4. A jolly good read in my opinion

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, May 12nd, 2009

   As someone who is new to XHTML/CSS I bought this book (along with "CSS: The Missing Manual" and "The CSS Anthology: 101 Essential Tips, Tricks & Hacks") as I'm soon to convert a static web site into an interactive one using DHTML, Ajax, PHP, MySQL etc. I last did web work with MS Frontpage many years ago.
   
   The "CSS: The Missing Manual" book was delivered first so I started reading that (currently half way through). Then this book arrived today and, as it looked so clear and readable, I read it from front to back this afternoon.
   
   What an excellent book! Dan can certainly write in a clear style and fully explains the point he is trying to make without any distractions. As someone who is late to this world of CSS etc I found it invaluable to see the bugs that are in IE5 and IE6 and how they can be circumvented. (I am aware that I'll need to test our site in many different browsers but I have got the latest versions of them all so would not pick up old browsers and the problems that arise using them.)
   
   He also points out issues re: the structure of HTML elements for users who use readers etc (content before sidebars for example so they get straight to the detail). Our site is aimed at the disabled so I'll certainly bear these issues in mind when re-developing the site.
   
   I bought it from the used & new section and got it for £16.25 + p&p - a bargain in my opinion.
   
   Just one comment. I downloaded the source and immediately tried the chapter 9 example in all my browsers. All worked flawlessly except IE7. Sometimes when you resize the page the sidebar goes to the bottom below the end of the content and above the footer. (At least, after reading this book, I know why IE7 is doing this!) This is corrected by adjusting the width of the browser by a pixel or so. So, for IE7, the hacks aren't bulletproof! I blame Microsoft for writing rubbish software.

5. Fantastic book. Highly recommend

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, December 12th, 2008

   This is a superbly written book that i would highly recommend to any developer, even veterans developers.
   The book shows you excellent best practice and efficient approaches to common design techniques. I've built many websites and used CSS alot and i took so much away from this book.
   
   The book assumes prior CSS and webdesign experience so it's not for beginners, but everything is explained in detail so novices will still be able to follow.