Web Services moderates this public FirstClass conference for MCPS webmasters and anyone interested in web development. Participants trade ideas, problems, solutions. It's lively, helpful, professional and fun.

Sites

Beginners Guide to HTML From the people who brought you Mosaic, the browser that started it all. Webmonkey: Beginners Nifty resource that helps you grow to the next stage: Builder Webmonkey: For Kids | Lissa Explains It All Web construction basics for the young and young at heart. Web Style Guide (Yale, 2nd edition -- also available in print) Help with everything from planning your site to compressing your images. Stanford Guidelines for Web Credibility Follow these 10 simple guidelines to improve your site's cred. Site Navigation Stress Test Subject your site to this simple test to see if your site passes. Web Design and Usability Guidelines Research-based, punchy pointers to making your site as easy to use as possible. useit.com: Jakob Nielsen's Website The guru of Web site usability speaks. Web Pages That Suck | Bad Designs Two of of Jakob's favorite sites. Laugh while you learn. A-Prompt Web Accessibility Verifier (free, Windows only) Useful, free tool for checking your pages for accessibility to visually impaired users. Bobby Online Service This free service will allow you to test web pages and help expose and repair barriers to accessibility. The Free Site | Cool Text | Flaming Text Free web space, graphics and utilities. Create custom buttons and banners. Zen Garden | The Beauty of CSS Design Sample sites using a variety of different style sheets against the same content demonstrate the power of style sheets.

Books

Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug · A fun, insightful read you can get through in one evening. Homepage Usability: 50 Web Sites Deconstructed by Jakob Nielsen & Marie Tahir · Fascinating, very visual analysis of the best sites around -- and their flaws. Web Style Guide (Yale, 2nd edition) Patrick J. Lynch and Sarah Horton · Elegant print version of the web site. (See Web Site section) Html for the Web with XHTML and CSS: Visual QuickStart Guide by Elizabeth Castro · Handy for beginners and well-rated by hundreds of Amazon users Macromedia Dreamweaver®MX: Training from the Source by Khristine Annwn Page, Macromedia Press, Berkley, CA, 2003 · Tutorial style lessons Macromedia Dreamweaver®MX H · O · T : Hands-on Training by Garo Green and Abigail Rudner developed by Lynda Weinman Designing with Web Standards by Jeffrey Zeldman, New Riders Press, Indianapolis, IN 46290, May 2003 Designing web pages for modern browsers and tomorrow/s Internet. Designing Web Usability: The Practice of Simplicity by Jakob Nielsen, New Riders Publishing, Indianapolis, IN, 2000 From content and page design to designing for ease of navigation and for users with disabilities, Jakob Nielson delivers complete direction on how to connect with any web user, in any situation. the Zen of CSS Design: Visual Enlightenment for the Web by Dave Shea and Molly E. Holzschlag, Peachpit Press, Berkley, CA 94710, 2005 Supporting book for www.csszengarden.com on the power of using style sheets.

Training

Adult Education Look under computers or technology classes to find web-related courses. Montgomery College Several types of web-related classes are offered:      For credit      Distance learning      Information Technology Institute (Continuing Education) Student Online Learning This is away for high school students to take courses outside of the traditional classroom setting.

Updated February 2, 2006 | Contact Webmaster