Reviews for CSS Web Design for Dummies

1. That'll Teach Me

   Rated 1 out of 5 stars, April 12th, 2008

   Teach me to read the reviews, not teach me CSS.
   
   I've been muddling through, looking after a website based on PostNuke (content management system) for the last 4 years. Before that I had a site that was just a collection of html pages, starting with pages that I'd written in Microsoft Word before I gradually realised that Word is NOT an html editor. Eventually I decided that I need to get to grips with CSS.
   
   The thing is, I've used the "...Dummies" books before and found them reasonably good so naturally I thought this one would be the same. No way.
   
   I persevered when the author told me that I should ignore Firefox and other "minority" browsers because 95% of people browsing my website would be using Internet Explorer. Maybe that was true in 2005 but if so, Firefox use was 5% and growing but why would I want to alienate even 5% of my visitors? I even persevered when he told me I should use the cool Internet Explorer only filters because he said he would get to them later. But I baulked at the idea that a professional web designer could advocate using Microsoft Word as a cool way to produce html! That was chapter 3 and I haven't been able to get past that yet.
   
   As I said, I should have read the reviews. That'll teach me.

2. Internet Explorer, Internet Explorer, Internet Explorer..........

   Rated 2 out of 5 stars, August 12nd, 2007

   Admittedly this book does present CSS in a reasonably clear and detailed manner; pretty good for the beginner.
   
   However this authors obsession with Internet Explorer surpasses irritation.
   The book was written in 2005 and apparently in 2005 Internet Explorer dominated 99% or 96% (depending which page you read) of the market. How anyone who is professionally involved with web design doesn't realise the userbase of other browsers is beyond comprehension. Web design and programming is one of the fastest changing technologies in the 21st century. This book still considers Netscape the minority competition when at the time Mozilla was hammering on the door of 14% of the market.
   
   If you can ignore the IE only stuff Mansfield does a good job of explaining the fundementals of CSS and actually using it somewhere. If you are looking to start web design with the intention of being professional I would look elsewhere otherwise you might just find your skills don't keep up with the real world.
   
   The only other problem with this book is that the pictured examples of code sometimes doesn't match the pictured output. Most of the time it's not a problem as the descriptions are pretty good, but sometimes it can also be crucial to the understanding.
   
   One term for budding professionals: cross-browser-compatibility

3. Not a good book

   Rated 1 out of 5 stars, June 12th, 2007

   If you want to learn CSS, this is not the book for you. I'm quite competent with html but don't understand a word this book is on about. It's quite a hard thing to grasp anyway but found that the web is the place to find things. This book has been of absolutely no use to me whatsoever.

4. Great for Beginners

   Rated 4 out of 5 stars, April 12th, 2007

   Let's face it, reviews are all very well and indeed there are lots of good ones (including some on this page), however, it's proof we all want.
   
   Off the back of reading this book, I built the following websites .. www.i-phone-uk.com .. www.shopdirect247.co.uk and I've just started www.gadgetheaven.net. If I've learnt the lessons of this book (and I accept there's an assumption that I have) then the lessons should be clear to see.
   
   The book slowly layers (sometimes a little too slow) the steps the reader needs to take to grasp the subject and then builds upon it step-by-step. In fact, it is possible to build a site as you go along. Richard Mansfield is clear to explain why things are important and doesn't completely exclude things too soon, although one quickly realises that this is someone that knows what he's talking about.
   
   CSS isn't a dark art, it's a simple subject that like so many - is easy when you know how!
   
   If you've used Dummies books before and have a genuine interest in developing a website then you'll find this very useful. Great for beginners.

5. No stars - undermines standards

   Rated 1 out of 5 stars, September 12th, 2005

   This dreadful book should carry a health warning. One of the major points about CSS and modern web design is that they should be standards compliant and cross-browser friendly. Time after time the author repeats that it's fine to code only for Internet Explorer, and if it doesn't work for anyone else, that's just too bad. If you want to learn about *proper* CSS usage you need a book like Jeffrey Zeldman's 'Designing With Web Standards'. Someone should send a copy of it to the author of this nonsense. This book is not just for dummies, clearly it was also written by one.