Bulletproof Web Design : Improving Flexibility and Protecting Against Worst-Case Scenarios with HTML5 and CSS3

No matter how visually appealing or content packed a web site may be, if it doesn’t reach the widest possible audience, it isn’t truly successful. In Bulletproof Web Design, Third Edition, bestselling author and web designer Dan Cederholm outlines standards-based strategies for building designs that can accommodate the myriad ways users choose to view the content. Each chapter starts out with an example of an unbulletproof approach--one that employs traditional HTML-based techniques--which Dan deconstructs, pointing out its limitations. He then gives the example a makeover using HTML and CSS, so you can learn to replace bloated code with lean markup and CSS for fast-loading sites that are accessible to all users. Finally, he assembles all of the page components discussed in prior chapters into a single-page template. This fully revised and updated third edition introduces CSS3 and HTML5 methods and features redesigned case studies including new responsive design examples.

• Size text using keywords, percentages, and ems to allow more user control.

• Plan for vertical expansion of horizontal page components.

• Use floats to achieve grid-like results.

• Ensure that content is still readable in the absence of images or CSS.

• Strip the presentation from data tables, and rebuild with CSS.

• Progressively enhance your designs using HTML5 and CSS3.

• Visit the companion website at simplebits.com/bulletproof to download finished files, additional resources, and book updates.

Dan Cederholm is a designer, author, speaker, husband, and father living in Massachusetts. He’s the Founder and Principal of SimpleBits LLC, a tiny design studio. A recognized expert in the field of standards-based web design, Dan has worked with YouTube, Microsoft, Google, MTV, ESPN, Electronic Arts, Blogger, Fast Company, Inc. Magazine, and others. Dan is co-founder and designer of Dribbble, a vibrant community for sharing screenshots of your work. His other bestselling books include CSS3 For Web Designers and Handcrafted CSS: More Bulletproof Web Design. He’s currently an aspiring clawhammer banjoist and occasionally wears a baseball cap.