This ebook covers the entire process of building a website. This process involves much more than just technical knowledge, and this ebook provides you with all the information you'll need to understand the concepts behind designing and developing for the Web, as well as the best means to deliver professional, best-practice-based results.

There is far more to building a successful website than knowing a little Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). The process starts long before any coding takes place, and this book introduces you to the agile development process, explaining why this method makes so much sense for web projects and how best to implement it. Planning is vital, so you'll also learn how to use techniques such as brainstorming, wireframes, mockups, and prototypes to get your project off to the best possible start and help ensure smooth progress as it develops.

An understanding of correct, semantic markup is essential to any web professional, so this book explains how XHTML should be used to structure content so that the markup adheres to current web standards. You'll learn about the wide range of HTML elements available to you, and you'll learn how and when to use them through building example web pages.

Without creative use of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), websites would all look largely the same. CSS gives you the ability to set your website apart from the rest while maintaining the integrity of your markup. You'll learn how CSS works and how to apply styles to your pages, enabling you to realize your design ideas in the browser.

JavaScript can be used to make your website easier and more interesting to use. This book provides information on appropriate uses of this technology and introduces the concepts of programming using it. You'll also see how JavaScript works as part of the much-hyped technique Ajax and in turn where Ajax fits into the wider Web 2.0 picture.

While a website is being built, it needs to be tested across multiple browsers and platforms to ensure that the site works for all users, regardless of ability or disability, and the book explains how best to do these tasks. Then, it discusses the process of launching and maintaining the site so that it will continue to work for all its users throughout its life-cycle.

The book concludes by covering server-side technologies, acting as a guide to the different options available and explaining differences between available products. With insights from renowned experts such as Jason Fried of 37signals, Daniel Burka of Digg and Pownce, and Chris Messina of Citizen Agency, Foundation Website Creation provides invaluable information applicable to every web project, regardless of size, scope, or budget.

In this book you'll

See how the Web has developed and the role web standards play
Learn how to plan and manage the building of a website
Learn how to separate content from presentation with HTML and CSS
See how JavaScript can be used to enhance your website
Learn how best to test, launch, and maintain a website

Summary of Contents

Chapter 1 Introducing the Past, Present, and Future of the Web
Chapter 2 Keeping a Project on Track
Chapter 3 Planning and High-Level Design
Chapter 4 Writing Markup with HTML and XHTML
Chapter 5 Exploring Fundamental Concepts of CSS
Chapter 6 Developing CSS in Practice: From Design to Deployment
Chapter 7 Creating Interactivity with JavaScript
Chapter 8 Testing, Launching, and Maintaining
Chapter 9 Web 2.0: Using Ajax and Social Software
Chapter 10 Using Server-Side Technologies
Afterword The Business of the Web