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Concentration on arcane design elements (the graphic device of a folded over page – to simulate a page page) trivializes the process of design without conveying the “gestalt”. Furthermore, relying on numerous examples of web sites (many now outdated, out of fashion or extinct) gives an instantly dated feel to the book.

The key ideas in web design should include: clarity, ease of use and navigation – essentially functionality. This book is a homage to self indulgent website eye-candy

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The actual sites themselves are pretty good. I wasn’t blown away by them, but was impressed and inspired. I keep a folder of bookmarks of sites that I think look good, categorized by “theme”. This is a nice little handheld thing to quickly scan through to get some quick ideas or some quick inspiration.

I do wish some of the thumbnails would have been bigger, the pages a little larger, or the book itself a little taller. Some of the pages are stuffed with thumbnails and it can be a little difficult to discern what that header really looks like, or what that button really says.

Also, some of the themes could have used a couple more sites. Some categories like blogs are literally 2 pages. If you’re gonna have a whole category I’m sure you can find a few more pages of nice sites to fill.

With all that being said this is a good book for 15 bucks. Especially if you are a web designer of any sort, this is a great resource to just have and flip through right before a new project.

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This process of mentally classifying design inspiration has become a critical part of my growth as a designer as well as my ability to explain web design to the non-designer. In The Web Designer’s Idea Book, Patrick McNeil takes the task of cataloging current trends and styles to a meticulous new level. Within the book’s 256 pages, McNeil has sorted over 700 screenshots of stellar site design by color, design style, type, theme, element and structure. Within these 6 chapters, he has defined a total of 75 individual design categories. Some examples of these categories include: Blogs, E-Commerce, Minimalist, Wood, Pink & Blue, Muted, Rays, Gradients, Tabs and Massive Footers. Then, within each of these seemingly exclusive categories there are a few paragraphs explaining when, how, and why it should be used along with an average of 8 or 9 example screenshots.

Obviously, reading this book will not teach you to be a great website designer. What it will do is expand your design vocabulary and train you to break down your favorite sources of design inspiration into bite-sized chunks that you can use in your own work. I spent a good portion of the cold, rainy weekend reading through the text in each category and pouring over the pages of screenshots. I saw quite a few familiar examples of good design, but was amazed by quantity of inspirational sites that I had never heard of. If I had one complaint about the book it would be that I wish all of the screenshots were full-size, or perhaps if they couldn’t be, that there was an archive of the full-size screenshots posted somewhere on the web. Regardless, I’m sure the book will be a huge source of inspiration for me for years to come. Then, when it is too old to serve as inspiration, it will most certainly be an excellent resource for web design history.

* As I was writing this review, I discovered that Curt Cloninger just released a sequel to this book: Fresher Styles for Web Designers: More Eye Candy from the Underground You can be sure that I’ll be reviewing this book as well in the near future.

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Good luck all!!

Liz Calamusa

[...]

Custom Cakes and Beyond

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The author of Web Marketing for Dummies was trying to give all the tools necessary to succeed when creating or improving an online presence and marketing a product or service on your website. They tell the reader in the introduction to “keep a picture of your customers or clients in mind as you read this book,” then later explains that in order to make the right decisions, consider the customers’ question, “what’s in it for me?” I thought that question was essential to note. It is important to keep in mind your customer when trying to develop any kind of web marketing strategy. This book is organized into eight separate categories to help achieve that goal.

1. Prepare your plan: set goals, define your market, know why people buy, and craft an online marketing plan

2. Draw them in: learn what makes an effective online storefront and what your site must offer to encourage shoppers

3. Direct mail (21st century style): use e-mail marketing effectively and spread the word via e-newsletters

4. Improve search engine rankings: optimize your site and search terms with best practices and online tools

5. Be a smart shopper: develop a pay-per-click and banner ad strategy that ensures you get your money’s worth

6. Keep it legal: safeguard copyrights, link legally, and use disclaimers, terms of use, and privacy policies

7. Tease them with technology: entice customers with video, blogs, webinars, podcasts, or widgets on your site

8. Analyze: track site activity with web analytics, interpret sales statistics, and determine where problems originate

I really liked “The Part of Tens” that follows these eight main categories. This section of the book describes ten free ways to market your website, the ten most common mistakes of web marketing, and ten tips for tired sites. If you already have an online presence and some sort of marketing plan in place or in mind, these are probably the most crucial chapters to focus on. I found that this section was the most helpful and easiest to apply.

The Pros for this book greatly out-weigh the Cons. Web marketing for Dummies is well organized and easy to read. It is definitely written for people without background knowledge of internet tools or technology. There is a web marketing glossary of need-to-know terms as well as useful market research sites that can help research your target market online. Icons are used throughout the book to indicate when something is important to remember, when there is a helpful tip or a warning, real world example, technical skill that may require additional help, and who to call for assistance. These icons make the book easier to scan and reference in the future. Throughout the book there are also numerous lists of websites to look at. There are websites listed for sample web provider directories, social networks, sources for automated content updates, international search engines, classified ad sites, and many more. Inside the front cover of this book there is also a $25 coupon for Google AdWords to get you started advertising your website. After that there is a cheat sheet that lists the important points of the book. It is broken down into website secrets for marketing success, what every successful website must do, the search engines that matter, ways to attract repeat visits, useful marketing research sites, and a glossary of terms. This was a huge pro for me because I could refer back to the important topics to remember.

There are a few cons I noted while reading this book. There are a few times when the reader is instructed to have “their web developer” add a specific feature to their website; however if a small business or single entrepreneur is trying to perform these tasks there are no instructions. It is also implied that it would be too difficult to write into the HTML what is suggested. There is also a lot of information that pertains to marketing for an online store. I personally am working on a web marketing strategy for a website that doesn’t require any purchasing and therefore skipped those chapters.

Overall this book is essential for web marketing. I would definitely recommend it for anyone that is looking to learn more about web marketing or start a marketing campaign on the internet. Web marketing for Dummies can be used to spread your marketing message to businesses and consumers while establishing a strong web presence.

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I now have a comprehensive understanding of what I am doing,

which makes learning code much, much easier.