The number of learning methods has changed dramatically from now to the time I first learned how to create websites. there’s youtube, digital books for your mobile devices, blogs, and immersive online course platforms like treehouse and udemy.
but I still believe that one of the best ways to learn web design for those of us who are self-taught is by reading books.
You are reading: Website design books for beginners
If I had to restart the entire journey of educating myself on how to build websites, but with the ability to know what I know now, the following books would be what I would buy for myself today. I recommend reading these web design books sequentially or depending on how proficient you are in web design now.
1. html and css: design and creation of websites
Every time I learn something new, I want to see the results as quickly as possible and I don’t want to get bogged down in the technical aspects of the subject. when I’ve decided that the subject is something I really want to master, that’s when I take the time to learn it inside and out. html and css: website design and creation allows you to start learning the essential concepts and basic techniques to create websites.
the theme’s presentation method is attractive, with lots of images.
The writing is not intimidating, which is great, so that you won’t get discouraged to push through and complete your learning experience. That’s precisely why I recommend this book as your first web design book for beginners. 
$19 at amazon.com
2. learning web design: a guide for beginners
After you feel like you’ve got the basics down, it’s time to pick a more technical and comprehensive book so you can really start to master the concepts. When it comes to understanding and technical mastery through books, nothing beats an O’Reilly book.
Learning Web Design is a long book, over 600 pages, but it is well written and will give you a good solid foundation on the subject. it has a ton of exercises, and I encourage you to do all of them so you get used to trying and experimenting with the code.
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In this book, you’ll go beyond html and css and start getting familiar with javascript and web graphics.
Though this book is designed for the absolute beginner, I feel like, just like with most other O’Reilly books, it shouldn’t be your first book on the subject especially if you’re not coming from a programming background. 
$20 at amazon.com
3. design with web standards
Now that you have a solid command of HTML and CSS from the two books above, it’s time to learn professional-level techniques and concepts. You will learn the how’s and the why’s of writing standards-compliant HTML and CSS through this book, Designing with Web Standards, as well as techniques for dealing with common web design issues. I’m glad that this book was refreshed recently, and with the involvement of Ethan Marcotte (the person who coined the term Responsive Web Design) this time around 
$32 at amazon.com
4. don’t make me think: a common sense approach to web usability
This book is old: it is 8 years old, so it could well have been written in the 14th century, in the context of an ever-evolving profession like web design. however, the concepts covered in this book are timeless, even for larger projects like enterprise web design.
While the books I mentioned above show you how to create websites, this website design book will show you how to create it in the most effective way for your website users. Don’t make me think this is a truly groundbreaking book, and I promise you’ll have plenty of “aha” moments as you read it.
The updated version of this book will be available in December 2013 (although you can preorder it now).
$25 at amazon.com
5. css domain: advanced web standards solutions
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This book contains practical techniques for dealing with common web design problems you will encounter. To really appreciate this book, buy it after you’ve spent hours/days debugging and rewriting your website’s html and css. this book will take you one step closer to mastering web design at a professional level.
This is the only book I have two copies of. I thought I had lost my first copy, so I bought another one. now I have an extra to lend to friends and family.
$26 at amazon.com
why I chose these web design books
I chose these web design books based on:
- my own experience as a self-taught web designer/developer
- what I have found to be effective educational sequences for web design while I was out in the field training other web designers and developers
- my interactions with our readers interested in becoming web designers, here on how to design and in six revisions
I am not affiliated with any of the books I mentioned above. I tried to pick the best web design books that you can read in sequence as you advance your web design knowledge and experience.
There are plenty of web design books out there and I recommend you look at all of your options before making a decision on how you will approach the task of educating yourself to become a professional web designer. after this you may want to explore other areas of web design/web development such as javascript, server side scripting languages and frameworks like php and rails, relational databases like mysql, solution development as well as systems content management such as wordpress, etc. go ahead.
there are tons of options to go ahead.
the industry has many things to offer you. let your interests dictate what you learn next. but if your intention is to be a professional web designer or developer, I recommend building on a solid foundation consisting of html, css, and web design best practices to make the most of more complicated things like javascript and php.
what books would you recommend to learn web design?
What books have helped you learn web design? please share your thoughts in the comments below.
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