 [Larger view] | Web Design Complete Course
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Average user rating:  | |
| Not bad... not great, either. | |
| I enjoyed the first few sessions about fireworks and the creative examples. When it got to dreamweaver and laying out the sites, the inconsistencies became increasingly annoying. As you progress, you will need to have a strong urge to learn it otherwise you will get lost as this is not the type of book that "holds your hand" through the lessons. I gave it 3 stars because I still learned from it as any other book aims to do. Do I recommend this book to beginners? Maybe not. | |
 Needs a few edits... | |
| The book is extremely well organized and full of great information. It goes beyond just learning how to use web design software. If you are an aspiring web designer, first learn HTML, then read this book. Although you do not need to know HTML to create web pages, it is the core language behind all web pages. Through your career, there will be times that the only way to accomplish something is by editing text. This book uses Macromedia's web design software in the lessons. Macromedia's Dreamweaver is becoming the defacto standard in professional web design. The lessons take you step-by-step as you build a complete website. I have found erros in some of the steps that are a bit annoying and frustrating, but so far I have not been stumped. Each lesson is a continuation of the previous lesson. I am guessing that different people worked on the individual lessons. So the file names sometimes change from lesson-to-lesson. Unfortunately, the errors in this book make it not for absolute beginners. But if you are new to web design and can figure out the missing steps, this is a good book. If you are a seasoned web designer who is a hard-core arrogant programmer, but want to learn Dreamweaver to improve your productivity, this book may be too basic. Consider a more advanced book. | |
 Could have been really good - but too many errors | |
| This would have been a really good book if there weren't so many errors in it. Obviously they rushed this book off to print without testing the content - and the errors increase in number and severity as the book goes along. I agree with other reviewers in that it makes the book almost unusable. Almost. The first eight chapters on Fireworks MX aren't too bad, and you will definitely learn something about Fireworks. However, in chapter nine - the section on Dreamweaver, things go really haywire. The instructions, when followed 100%, DO NOT produce what the book suggests by its photographs. Not even close. You're pretty much on your own at this point - either you will be consulting the help files like crazy and/or having to experiment extensively to produce the correct result. Which isn't to say you won't learn something. In fact, I am finding that because of all the errors, I am forced to learn how Dreamweaver works on my own - which reinforces the learning. But, really - it is a pain in the butt to do it this way. And certainly not for a beginner or anyone who does not posess a great deal of patience. |
