Introduction                                       1  (6)
      About This Book                              1  (1)
      Conventions Used in This Book                2  (1)
      Foolish Assumptions                          2  (1)
      What You Shouldn't Read                      3  (1)
      How This Book Is Organized                   3  (1)
        Part I The Web Design Kick-Off             3  (1)
        Part II User-Friendly Design               3  (1)
        Part III Designing Web Graphics            4  (1)
        Part IV Producing the Final Website        4  (1)
        Part V The Part of Tens                    4  (1)
      Icons Used in This Book                      4  (1)
      I'm Here if You Need Me!                     5  (2)
  Part I The Web Design Kick-Off                   7  (28)
    Chapter 1 So You're Designing a Website        9  (10)
      The People Involved                          10 (7)
        Business folks and clients                 10 (1)
        Producers and project managers             10 (2)
        Information architects                     12 (1)
        Visual designers                           13 (1)
        Content developers                         14 (2)
        Media specialists                          16 (1)
        Web developers                             16 (1)
        Programmers                                16 (1)
      Getting Started in Web Design                17 (1)
      Getting Experience                           18 (1)
    Chapter 2 From Concept to Execution            19 (16)
      Phase 1 Definition                           19 (3)
        Understanding site goals                   20 (1)
        Gathering business requirements            21 (1)
        Developing an RFP                          21 (1)
        Building a project plan                    22 (1)
      Phase 2 Design                               22 (4)
        Creating a sitemap                         23 (1)
        Developing wireframes                      23 (1)
        User testing                               24 (1)
        Putting together a content plan            24 (1)
        Establishing "look and feel"               25 (1)
        Getting input from a focus group           26 (1)
      Phase 3 Development                          26 (6)
        Producing comps                            27 (1)
        Content development                        27 (1)
        Media development                          27 (1)
        Building the presentation layer with       28 (2)
        HTML and CSS
        Developing the backend                     30 (2)
      Phase 4 Deployment                           32 (2)
        Quality assurance                          32 (2)
        Launch day                                 34 (1)
      Phase 5 Maintenance                          34 (1)
  Part II User-Friendly Design                     35 (76)
    Chapter 3 Designing the Right Site for the     37 (22)
    Right Crowd
      Who Is the Audience?                         38 (2)
        Question checklist for clients             38 (1)
        Personas                                   39 (1)
        User scenarios                             39 (1)
      Building an Outline for Your Site            40 (4)
        Balancing business requirements with       40 (1)
        user needs
        Categorizing and prioritizing              41 (1)
        information
        Establishing navigation sets based on      42 (2)
        priority
      Creating a Sitemap                           44 (8)
        Reading between the lines and boxes        46 (2)
        Developing your own set of symbols         48 (2)
        Everyone's singing from the same song      50 (1)
        sheet
        The official page index                    51 (1)
      Building a Map for a Site Redesign           52 (1)
        Deconstructing a website                   52 (1)
        Finishing the sitemap                      53 (1)
      Developing a Marketing Plan                  53 (6)
        Offline marketing                          54 (1)
        Online marketing                           54 (5)
    Chapter 4 Organizing and Navigating Web        59 (18)
    Content
      Page-Level Planning                          60 (3)
        Mapping out content zones                  61 (1)
        Wireframing                                62 (1)
      Presenting Content on the Page               63 (7)
        Indicating text on a wireframe             63 (1)
        Working with a content management system   63 (2)
        Maximizing your space                      65 (3)
        Annotating your wireframes                 68 (2)
      Getting Around in Style                      70 (7)
        Global navigation                          70 (1)
        Section navigation                         70 (3)
        Leaving a trail of bread crumbs            73 (1)
        Combining navigation techniques            74 (1)
        Use graphical themes, not metaphors        75 (2)
    Chapter 5 User Interface Design for the Web    77 (18)
      Interaction Design                           78 (4)
        Creating user flow diagrams                78 (1)
        Going with the flow                        79 (3)
      Visual Design's Role in Usability            82 (9)
        Giving rollover feedback                   83 (1)
        Designing buttons that look clickable      84 (1)
        Taking clues from everyday life            84 (1)
        Grouping and nesting elements              85 (2)
        Providing "You are here" feedback          87 (1)
        Color-coding is overrated                  88 (1)
        Differentiating between clickable and      89 (2)
        non-clickable things
      Consistency Is Everything                    91 (1)
      Maximizing Space                             92 (3)
    Chapter 6 User Testing: Lab Coats Not          95 (16)
    Required
      Developing Testable Prototypes               96 (6)
        Creating clickable wireframes              96 (1)
        Testing your visual design                 97 (2)
        Building an HTML click-through to test     99 (3)
        for usability
      Prepping for the User Test                   102(3)
        Preparing to-do lists for users            102(2)
        Developing a testing methodology           104(1)
      Carrying Out the User Test                   105(3)
        Finding willing guinea pigs                106(1)
        Conducting the test                        107(1)
      "Houston, We Have a Problem...":             108(3)
      Evaluating Results
  Part III Designing Web Graphics                  111(108)
    Chapter 7 Web Graphic Design 101               113(20)
      Crafting the Visual Interface                113(10)
        Developing page templates                  114(2)
        Creating comps                             116(1)
        Blending color, type, and graphics         117(4)
        Using a grid system                        121(2)
      Establishing Visual Priority                 123(4)
        Implementing the "big, medium, small"      124(1)
        strategy
        Breaking up the page into manageable       125(1)
        areas
        Designing around the fold line             126(1)
      Adding Breathing Space                       127(2)
      Establishing a Design Style Guideline        129(4)
        Graphic style guides                       129(1)
        Button styles                              129(1)
        Type styles                                130(3)
    Chapter 8 Letter-Perfect Type Design           133(18)
      Text That You Can Actually Read              134(8)
        Choosing the right font for the            136(6)
        situation
        Not too big; not too small                 142(1)
      Controlling Text Display                     142(3)
        Graphic text versus HTML text              142(1)
        Language localization                      143(1)
        Font specifications                        143(1)
        Have a font-fallback plan                  143(2)
      Working with CSS                             145(6)
        External style sheets                      146(3)
        Internal style sheets                      149(2)
    Chapter 9 Understanding Web Color,             151(22)
    Resolution, and File Formats
      The Secret World of RGB                      152(2)
        Subtractive and additive colors            152(1)
        Gazillions of colors                       152(2)
      Color Bit Depth                              154(4)
        Limited color palettes                     154(2)
        24-bit images                              156(1)
        Monitor color depth                        156(2)
      Hexadecimal Color Code                       158(2)
      Image and Monitor Resolution                 160(1)
        Monitor resolution                         160(1)
        Image resolution                           160(1)
      Bitmap versus Vector Graphics                161(4)
        Bitmaps: A fabric of pixels                161(1)
        Vectors: For the mathematically inclined   162(1)
        The vector-bitmap showdown                 163(2)
      Image Compression and File Formats           165(8)
        GIF format                                 166(3)
        JPEG format                                169(1)
        PNG format                                 170(1)
        SVG format                                 170(2)
        SWF format                                 172(1)
    Chapter 10 Building Your Web Comps             173(16)
      The Usual Software Suspects                  174(4)
        Photoshop                                  174(1)
        Fireworks                                  174(2)
        Illustrator                                176(1)
        Flash                                      176(1)
        Dreamweaver                                177(1)
      Mood Boards: Setting the Tone                178(1)
      Design Resources                             179(3)
        Stock photography and illustration         179(1)
        Digital photography and scanning images    180(1)
        Typography                                 180(2)
        Photoshop brushes                          182(1)
        Widgets                                    182(1)
        Web-design templates                       182(1)
      Building a Web-Page Template from Scratch    182(3)
      Web Background Graphics                      185(4)
    Chapter 11 Getting Inspired: Web-Design        189(20)
    Ideas
      Developing Design Directions                 190(2)
        Working from wireframes                    190(1)
        Putting multiple designers on the task     191(1)
      Gathering Design Input                       192(1)
      Getting Ideas for Visual and Interaction     193(9)
      Design
        Cinematic websites                         194(2)
        Innovative interaction design              196(4)
        Capturing the brand experience             200(2)
      Designing a Mobile-Friendly Version of       202(7)
      Your Site
        A new way to look at pixels                203(1)
        Simplify the navigation                    203(2)
        Reduce file sizes                          205(1)
        Horizontal and vertical orientation        206(1)
        Use a single-column layout                 206(3)
    Chapter 12 Presenting Your Design              209(10)
    Masterpiece
      Assembling an Online Presentation            210(3)
        Presenting your designs online             210(2)
        Constructing working and non-working       212(1)
        prototypes
      Creating Sizzling Printed Presentations      213(3)
        In living color: Printing your mock-ups    213(2)
        Mounting your work on boards               215(1)
      Presenting to Clients                        216(3)
        Clients are suckers for the "ugly          217(1)
        duckling"
        Here we go again: Round two                218(1)
  Part IV Producing the Final Website              219(66)
    Chapter 13 Building the Presentation Layer     221(18)
      HTML: The Glue That Holds a Page Together    222(6)
        Sneaking a peek at the source code         223(3)
        Learning (borrowing) from others           226(2)
        HTML editing with power tools              228(1)
      HTML5                                        228(2)
        A mobile and device-friendly solution      228(1)
        An animation alternative                   228(1)
        Touchscreen support                        229(1)
        Geolocation                                230(1)
        Powerful content handling                  230(1)
      DHTML, JavaScript, jQuery, and Ajax          230(2)
      CSS                                          232(7)
        How CSS works                              232(3)
        Color gradients, transparency, and         235(1)
        reflections
        Shadow effects                             236(1)
        Rounded corners                            236(1)
        Animation effects                          237(2)
    Chapter 14 Platform Selection, Content         239(24)
    Management, Analytics, and SEO
      Development Platform                         240(1)
      Content Management                           241(4)
        Custom versus off-the-shelf solutions      243(1)
        Connecting your site to a CMS              244(1)
      Web Analytics                                245(5)
        Google Analytics                           245(1)
        What can you learn about your site?        246(2)
        Real-time monitoring                       248(1)
        Where do people click?                     248(1)
        Fee-based services                         249(1)
      Search Engine Optimization                   250(13)
        On-page and off-page search                250(3)
        URL structure and file names               253(1)
        Remedy duplicate URLs to the same page     254(1)
        Prepare a search-specific Sitemap          255(1)
        More SEO strategies                        256(1)
        Natural versus paid search                 257(3)
        Inbound and outbound linking               260(3)
    Chapter 15 Websites on Steroids                263(22)
      Extending Website Functionality              264(6)
        Facebook Connect                           264(3)
        Twitter                                    267(1)
        Disqus                                     268(1)
        Google Maps                                269(1)
        A myriad of APIs to choose from            269(1)
      E-commerce Websites                          270(6)
        Secure socket layer                        271(1)
        Payment gateways                           272(1)
        Shopping cart design tips that boost       273(3)
        sales
      Personalized Web Pages with Cookies          276(1)
      Browser and Location Detection               277(5)
        IP and GPS detection                       278(1)
        Responsive design                          279(3)
      Global Website Performance                   282(3)
  Part V The Part of Tens                          285(36)
    Chapter 16 Ten Tips for Managing Your          287(14)
    Web-Design Business
      Presenting Your Work                         288(3)
        Assembling a portfolio                     288(2)
        Presenting your work                       290(1)
      Developing a Proposal                        291(2)
      Winning the Bid                              293(1)
      Knowing What to Charge as an Independent     294(1)
      Consultant
      How Agencies Charge                          295(1)
      Managing a Client's Expectations             296(1)
      Setting Client Responsibilities for the      296(1)
      Project
      Getting Clients to Sign Off on Key           297(1)
      Milestones
      Managing the Web Project's Workflow          297(1)
      Hiring and Managing Subcontractors           298(3)
    Chapter 17 Ten Information and Interaction     301(10)
    Design Tips
      Use Only Five to Seven Main Categories       302(1)
      Develop Wireframes for Each Unique Page      303(1)
      Layout
      Always Label Your Buttons and Icons          303(1)
      Mind the Download Time                       304(1)
      Provide "You Are Here" Feedback              304(1)
      Make It Easy to Get Back Home                305(1)
      Visually Differentiate Clickable and         306(1)
      Non-clickable Things
      "One of These Buttons Is Not Like the        307(1)
      Others"
      Tread Lightly with Real-Life Metaphors       307(1)
      Use Color-Coding Sparingly                   308(3)
    Chapter 18 Ten Things That Can Go Wrong        311(10)
      "Can We Add Just One More Thing?"            311(2)
      "We Don't Have Time for a Sitemap."          313(1)
      "The Clients Want THAT Design?"              313(1)
      "Who Needs Usability Testing When You        314(1)
      Have Me?"
      "But I'm Sure I Can Make This New            314(1)
      Technology Work!"
      "We're Planning for an International         315(2)
      Audience?"
      "The Site Needs to Work on Mobile            317(1)
      Platforms?"
      "You Mean We Need to Maintain the Site       318(1)
      Now?"
      "Oops, We Forgot to Add Analytics"           318(1)
      "If We Build It, They Will Come."            319(2)
Index                                              321