The Unusually Useful Web Book (Voices That Matter) [Paperback]

People spend months and even years learning and staying current with the technical aspects of web design. Armed with this vast knowledge--so vast it intimidates many from even taking these first steps--they head out in to cyberspace to set up shop, only to produce an ugly site with a clunky interface that no one visits.

If only they had started with the Unusually Useful Web Book. Indeed, if only I had. This is one book about web site creation, management and promotion that lives up to its name.

Unlike so many in this genre, this book takes you step-by-step through planning, creation and promotion and examines every known trick of of the world's most successful websites. This book is subtitled "Everything We've Learned About Why Sites Succeed!" and as such is less about the technical details of site design and maintenance as it is about the goals you should be shooting for, giving the aspiring webmaster a complete roadmap--prioritized--to the creation of a successful site.

I often spend a tremendous amount of time making sure the technical aspects of my designs work as planned. In so doing, it's easy to forget that the goal of designing a site is to attract visitors and hopefully, business. What I like most about this book is the way it makes me examine these priorities, and really helps on deciding whether adding this bell or that whistle to my designs is simply an effort to show off my skills, or whether they will be a useful, attractive enhancement that will encourage visitors to return.

From planning your site through building, visual design, marketing and hitting your target audience, to sizing up your competition and learning from them, making money, maintaining and updating your site, this book covers all the bases.

The book frequently encourages you to "Take Action!" with step-by-step sidebars and checklists to solve specific problems, such as visitors leaving your site without buying, getting higher up on the search engines, avoiding traps that lead to slow pages and difficult navigation and so much more.

I recommend this easy-to-read book for beginners and seasoned designers alike. In fact, this book is the best starting point and reference I've seen for anyone who thinks they might ever be interested in online marketing.

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This book provides an overview of the processes, the techniques, and the technologies that can (and should) be used to develop and maintain a successful web site. If you are looking for an in-depth technical book on HTML, CSS, or other specific tools this is not that book. Buy this book anyway! It will be worth it.

The book is divided into four major sections: Planning Your Site, Designing Your Site, Building Your Site, and Maintaining Your Site. There is also an appendix with short biographies of the experts that the author interviewed and some additional expert advice. Each section has good information that you can use right now whether you are starting to create a new site or are involved in the maintenance and upgrade of an existing site.

There are some great features to go along with the great information. The book has 19 worksheets (the back cover says 20 so maybe I missed one) to help you with tasks such as: determining the site's goals, determining the site's features, improving site speed, browser/platform compatibility, and how you will promote the site. There are one-to-two page "Lesson from the Trenches" sub-sections that present the experience of web development veterans. Three lessons that stand out in my mind are: You are not your user, Your site is not the center of the user's universe, and Why you should follow web standards. Two other features are the "links" that point to other sections with more in-depth information about a topic and the references to on-line resources.

A conscious effort was made to make the book look and feel like a web site. This approach works very well. Sections are short, important points are highlighted, and I found myself following "links" to more in-depth information on topics that were of interest to me. This book lives up to its title by being full of unusually useful information and also being unusually readable. I think this book is going to be an instant classic.

I would recommend this book to a wide audience, including
- beginners in web-related activities (great eye-opener and good introductory material to other important areas)
- students or fresh graduates (who think they know everything about HTML and other technology but are lacking in other issues)
- teachers who teach students web technology (and miss out the other issues)
- managers in charge of websites (who think think they know everything because they surf the internet)

A great well-rounded book which covers wider issues than almost any other web book.