12 best web design books

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More about the book

The web has been around for more than 25 years now, experiencing euphoric early expansion, an economic-driven bust, an innovation-driven rebirth, and constant evolution along the way. One thing is certain: the web as a communication and commercial medium is here to stay. Not only that, it has found its way onto devices such as smartphones, tablets, TVs, and more. There have never been more opportunities to put web design know-how to use.

Whatever the motivation, the first question is always the same: “Where do I start?” It may seem like there is a mountain of stuff to learn, and it’s not easy to know where to jump in. But you have to start somewhere.

Learning Web Design is a complete introductory-level course in web design and production. It is divided into six parts: basic background information about the web and web design, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, web image production, and appendices. Since hands-on experience is the best way to learn, this book includes exercises throughout every lesson. Online materials are provided though a companion website to work along with the book.

You’ll begin from square one, learning how the web and web pages work, then steadily build from there. Along the way, there are hands-on exercises and short quizzes to make sure you understand key concepts. By the end of the book, you’ll have the skills to create a simple multi-column site that works on all screen sizes.

Learning Web Design, Fifth Edition, is divided into six parts, each dealing with an important aspect of web development.

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From the Preface

Why I Wrote This Book

I wrote this book in order to make complex laws of psychology accessible to more designers—specifically designers that don’t have background knowledge in psychology or behavioral science. The intersection of psychology and UX design has become an increasingly relevant topic in an era when design roles are having an ever-stronger impact within organizations. Along with a growing focus on design, there has been an increase in debate around which additional skills designers should learn, if any, to increase their value and contribution. Should designers code, write, or understand business? These skills are all valuable, but perhaps not essential. However, I would argue that every designer should learn the fundamentals of psychology.

As humans, we have an underlying “blueprint” for how we perceive and process the world around us, and the study of psychology helps us decipher this blueprint. Designers can use this knowledge to build more intuitive, human-centered products and experiences. Instead of forcing users to adapt to the design of a product or experience, we can use some key principles from psychology as a guide for designing in a way that is adapted to people. This is the fundamental basis of human-centered design, and it is the foundation of this book.

But knowing where to start can be a challenge. Which principles from psychology are useful? What are some examples of these principles at work? There’s an endless list of laws and theories that occupy this space, but there are a few that I’ve found particularly helpful and widely applicable. In this book, I explore these concepts and present some examples of how they are effectively leveraged by products and experiences we interact with every day.

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An interview with author Ben Frain

The tenets of Responsive Web Design haven't really changed, but much of the web around it has! The first version of this book was published in 2012, which is an age ago in web development terms. The second edition was published in 2015, and at the time, a lot of the most exciting new capabilities we have at our disposal were only just being specified. There's been a lot to talk about in this new 2020 version!

Okay, so what's new in this third edition?

The biggest single addition is the chapter on CSS Grid. It’s a new and lengthy chapter that didn’t exist at all in previous editions. If you haven’t got to grips with CSS Grid yet – you need to, whether that’s with my book or another resource. Beyond that, there's sizeable sections on variable fonts, CSS Scroll Snap, CSS Custom Properties, and lots, lots more.

When you talk about building "future-proof responsive websites", how future-proof do you mean?

The great thing about the web is it incredibly backwards-compatible. That means if you write standards compliant HTML5/CSS and JavaScript, which is what we concentrate on in the book, you’ll be in the best possible shape. This book concentrates on building websites that will work just fine on all manner of devices in at least 5-10 years from now.

Furthermore, I've concentrated on pragmatism; detailing the kind of techniques and solutions I use everyday building responsive websites and applications 'for real'.

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From the Preface

We’re approaching the 15-year anniversary of the original publication of this book, Designing Interfaces. And it’s been 10 years since the second edition. It’s worth looking at what’s changed and what hasn’t, and what it means for interface design and people who interact with software.

Since then, the big change is that technology and software accelerated their growth and spread in an ever-increasing way. This trend is not stopping. Today, we interact with software in almost every aspect of our daily lives; for work, leisure, communicating, shopping, learning, and more. The list of devices and things with software smarts and internet connectivity is exploding: cars, smart speakers, televisions, toys, watches, homes. Screen sizes and types vary, and an explosion of interfaces that are primarily gesture or voice are found in consumer products. Globally, more than half the population of the planet now accesses the internet.

Finally, software is becoming more powerful, more analytical, more predictive, more able to offer smarter insights and operate more independently. In a phrase, it’s becoming more like us.

Interface design, like everything else, changes to keep up with the changing times. A third edition that tries to be the comprehensive design guide for all the possible interfaces in this increasing complexity would be enormous and never finished.