Useful and Free Downloadable Web Design Books

There are a multitude of books (digital format or print) that cover every possible aspect of web design, each one is unique and offers a personalized opportunity for the author to both educate, inspire, and guide the reader through their knowledge.


In this website we have included several books that, we deem, are recommended reading... and all of these books are completely FREE, in digital format (PDF or HTML). We hope you find these books useful.

Showing posts with label websites. Show all posts
Showing posts with label websites. Show all posts

Web Style Guide: Basic Design Principles for Creating Web Sites – 3rd Edition


Web Style Guide: Basic Design Principles for Creating Web Sites - 3rd Edition
Author(s): Patrick J. Lynch and Sarah Horton.
About the Book: Written by Patrick J. Lynch and Sarah Horton for web site designers in corporations, government, nonprofit organizations, and academic institutions, the book explains established design principles and covers all aspects of web design—from planning to production to maintenance. The guide also shows how these principles apply in web design projects whose primary concerns are information design, interface design, and efficient search and navigation.

Research-Based Web Design & Usability Guidelines (PDF)


Research-Based Web Design & Usability Guidelines
About the Book: The Research-Based Web Design & Usability Guidelines (Guidelines) were developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in partnership with the U.S. General Services Administration.

The Guidelines were developed to assist those involved in the creation of Web sites to base their decisions on the most current and best available evidence. The Guidelines are particularly relevant to the design of information-oriented sites, but can be applied across the wide spectrum of Web sites.

Access by Design Online (HTML)


Access by Design Online
Author(s): Sarah Horton.
About the Book: We design Web sites so people can use them. People doesn’t mean “some people” or “certain people.” With universal usability, our goal is to design Web sites that accommodate the diversity of people and the Web browsing devices that they use. To design Web sites that people can use, we must work within the flexible framework that the Web provides.

To this end, we must begin our process with a solid understanding of how the Web works. When we know its nature, we can make intelligent design decisions that uphold rather than impede its functionality. Whenever we face a decision that may impact function, we must look for other options.

Integrating Accessibility Throughout Design (HTML)


Integrating Accessibility Throughout Design
Author(s): Shawn Lawton Henry.
About the Book: The Web is providing unprecedented access to information and interaction for people with disabilities. It provides opportunities to participate in society in ways otherwise not available. With accessible websites, people with disabilities can do ordinary things: children can learn, teenagers can flirt, adults can make a living, seniors can read about their grandchildren, and so on.

With the Web, people with disabilities can do more things themselves, without having to rely on others. People who are blind can read the newspaper (through screen readers that read aloud text from the computer), and so can people with cognitive disabilities who have trouble processing written information. People who are deaf can get up-to-the-minute news that was previously available only to those who could hear radio or TV, and so can people who are blind and deaf (through dynamic Braille displays). Web accessibility is about removing those barriers so that people with disabilities can use and contribute to the Web.

This book helps you improve your products—websites, software, hardware, and consumer products—to remove accessibility barriers and avoid adding new barriers. One guiding principle is: just ask people with disabilities.