Joe Casabona - HTML and CSS: Visual QuickStart Guide (9th Edition)

Writing a book, especially a good one, takes time and a group of solid people. And this one wouldnt have happened without the great team I got to be a part of. I want to extend a special thank you to:

• Laura Norman, who helped me get back in the book writing game with this title, for her support and guidance along the way.

• Victor Gavenda, for his development editing and deep knowledge of the VQS format, and for making it seem like I have good control over the English language.

• Faraz Kelhini, the tech editor. His feedback and suggestions made for a much better read.

• Scout Festa, for excellent copyediting.

• Tracey Croom and the entire Pearson design team, for making this book look fantastic.

• Shawn Hesketh, a friend and mentor who taught me all the good things I know about screencasts.

• Brian Richards, for helping me work though some of the more advanced topics in this book.

• My friends and family, for the support and encouragement throughout the writing process.

• Everyone who has contributed by letting me use a screenshot, image, or resource that they created.

• To TT at my local Starbucks. He always saw me coming and had my order ready.

• To you, the readers. Thank you for allowing me to contribute to your learning journey.

• Finally, to Elizabeth Castro for creating this title, and to Bruce Hyslop for passing me the torch.

When I started making websites, back in 2000, it was a much simpler time. I was able to build a full website with just HTML and CSS and a few images. There were also fewer browsers and devices. But as the web evolved and computers got smarter and more powerful, the needs of both web users and web developers changed. This made some things easier. It also made learning more complicated.

Today, a website that doesnt use any JavaScript is a rare sight (and site!). There are so many build tools, libraries, and development philosophies that learning how to make a website can seem overwhelming.

But theres good news: at the heart of it all are still just plain and simple HTML and CSS.

The building blocks of the web are plain HTML and CSSand you can make a website knowing just those two technologies. Thats what you learn in this book. Specifically, youll get the ins and outs of what it takes to write good, meaningful, and well-structured HTML. Youll learn how to write proper, maintainable CSS to make your HTML look nice. And youll learn how to get it all online.

Websites are meant to be universal files that can be accessed and displayed everywhere by everyone. Accessibility in multiple senses of the wordis the name of the game, and learning to design and build websites that can be reached by all users, regardless of their personal abilities, using any device they choose.

To make a webpage, you need only what you already have on your computer: a text editor, a place to save files, and a browser. This book teaches you how to put all those pieces together.

On top of learning how to write HTML and CSS (and get it online), youll get a crash course in what its like to build a professional website today. Youll learn about important aspects of web design, such as performance (making sure your website loads quickly and doesnt burden the user). Youll learn about how to make your website accessible so that anyone can use it, including those who are color blind or rely on a screen reader.

This book also explores modern tools like CSS preprocessors, JavaScript libraries, and version control. Its good to know these things as you move forward because they will probably be the next step on your learning journey. This brings us to the next question: who is this book for?

In short, this book is written for anyone who wants to learn HTML and CSS. It assumes no prior knowledge.

That means that if you want to make a website for your hobby, this book is for you. If youre taking a beginner course (or teaching a beginner course), its for you too. Or if you want to become a professional web developer, hey, its for you too. After all, books like this are how I got my start. Youll get all the tools you need to get a website online. And then Ill give you some options for what you can learn next.