I'm not sure if this is in the right place, so please feel free to move it as necessary.

I'm going to the "big" city of Frederick, MD on Friday and am sooooo excited! I haven't been home in about 6 months so I'm really jonesing for the bookstore...lol

Anyhow, my plan is to purchase some good VA/business books and one thing I'd like to get are 1, maybe 2, good books on web design for beginners that include HTML, CSS and all the other good stuff I know nothing about. So, and this may be a good question for Tess and Hamid, any good suggestions? The classes that Hamid does are WONDERFUL, but I just haven't had the time to do it lately and the hand-me-down books I have are VERY outdated.

TIA

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Stephanie
New VA in the research phase :daisy:

I'll have to get Hamid to pitch in here with any other ideas he has but one title that was a favorite was Head First HTML with CSS and XHTML - it's a BIG book but is written with a great, fun tone and is broken up with samples and bits to try so it doesn't get dry and boring - would be a good place for you to start.

I'm wondering what other titles anyone else would recommend as well??

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I personally love the "Missing Manual" series of web design, although that might not be beginner enough for you.

I also recently bought the "CSS Pocket Reference" which is good if I can't remember how to do something specific (which is often the case!).

You also might want to choose a book that's specific for the web design software you have. I have several for Dreamweaver,which is what I use to design.

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Kathy Harmacek, Your Virtual Aide
http://www.your-virtual-aide.com

Thanks, Tess!

I just visited the Head First website and got enthralled for about an hour...lol They have chapter 8 available for preview in it's entirety. I can't wait to get the book and will definitely give a Book Review if it hasn't already been done.

"Head First" sounds like the "For Dummies" series of the new milennium, but I have never heard of them before.

Thanks again,

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Stephanie
New VA in the research phase :daisy:

Originally Posted by kathyh

I personally love the "Missing Manual" series of web design, although that might not be beginner enough for you. I also recently bought the "CSS Pocket Reference" which is good if I can't remember how to do something specific (which is often the case!). You also might want to choose a book that's specific for the web design software you have. I have several for Dreamweaver,which is what I use to design.

Thanks, I've heard mention of the "CSS Pocket Reference" and plan on either picking one up or finding something comprehensive online that I can download and print (I find that I like to have hardcopies of job aides and reference materials).

I'm not using web design software, at least not at the moment. I'd kind of like to try learning how to do it myself if I can.

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Stephanie
New VA in the research phase :daisy:

Originally Posted by StephanieP

Thanks, Tess! I just visited the Head First website and got enthralled for about an hour...lol They have chapter 8 available for preview in it's entirety. I can't wait to get the book and will definitely give a Book Review if it hasn't already been done. "Head First" sounds like the "For Dummies" series of the new milennium, but I have never heard of them before. Thanks again,

Stephanie - that sounds great, I hope you enjoy the title. Feel free to publish your review of the book to this forum section when you're ready (It hasn't been written up yet)
And yes, they do have a great website!
Enjoy and happy learning!

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Hi Stephanie,

My personal favorites are the Visual Quickstart Guides written by Elizabeth Castro. You can learn more about them here. I have been reading the older versions for years and I just love them. If you have a Half Price Books nearby, you could probably find a used copy.

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Christina Shirley
Virtually Handled

I used the HTML, XHTML, and CSS All-in-One Desk Reference for Dummies. It covers html, css, javascript, mysql, php, and ajax. It didn't go into great detail on any one subject, but was more than enough to get a good usable understanding of each language. It also came with a cd that has a few programs on it that will help you with web design. I highly recommend it for a beginner or someone who has a basic idea of web design.

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Kellie Stotsky
The Essential Virtual Assistant
www.theessentialva.com

Thanks for all of the suggestions...

I think I've decided on the books I'd like to get for now (although I could easily spend $1000 if I had it...lol). Hopefully, I can find them all.

VA - The Series (something specific to starting a VA business)
Purple Cow... (something about business in general)
Head First HTML... (a new skill to learn)

By the way, when I was browsing the Barnes & Noble website, I came across a book that seemed like a fun read. It's a fictional British novel about a girl who is a VA (romantic comedy) called Highland Fling by Katie Fforde (Aug 2003). It doesn't look like Barnes & Noble has any new copies available, but their are some used copies online. I just think it's very interesting that our industry is already being used in fictional works as occupations.

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Stephanie
New VA in the research phase :daisy: