Customer comments on this selection.
 too technical
When I purchased this book, I thought I was getting a step-by-step guide for beginners who build websites. Unfortunately, it turns out this book is for the experienced web designer whose looking for more ideas. I found a better book for beginners through the "Dummies" series. Oh yeah, if you can afford it, hire someone to build your website!
 Excellent for Business Owners
Although this book sounds like a "tech" book, it is far from it. It only contains about two pages of actual code total. I highly recommend this book for anyone who runs a small to medium-sized business where you interact with your web design company directly, or any executive who has to interface with the web development team.
It could also be good for web designers who have been AWOL for the last half-decade or more, or people new to the business who want to learn. Although you won't learn any HTML, CSS, or JavaScript, you will learn stuff that no one else has published in one handy volume. Great for a day at the park - leave your laptop at home. I've written a far-more extensive review on my blog, so search for my name if you feel the need to read really long reviews before buying, but if I can save you some time, just take my word for it and buy it if the above describes you.
Excellent Guide!
This book is an excellent guide to Web design. It is very well written with practical information. The reading is easy and very interesting. I reccommend it very much.
An invaluable checklist of essential tools & techniques for business web design
"Web Design and Marketing Solutions for Business Websites" is the first book on web design to focus on integrating marketing, customer service, accessibility, and web standards into the design process. It's an accessible, clear, and up-to-date resource on best practices for modern business- and service-oriented websites.
Kevin Potts begins the book by pointing out that the internet is now an essential medium for businesses of all shapes and sizes; at the same time, customers are more sophisticated than in the early days of the internet, and have little patience for poorly designed websites. In order for a company to present an effective presence on the web, it "must deliver beyond customer expectations; better content, sharper design, smarter architecture, and more proactive communication and interaction are all components of websites that produce exceptional results for corporations."
In the first chapter, the author begins by outlining what a company's website should be doing:
* Marketing, selling products, & promoting services
* Providing customer support & company information
* Creating branding & market awareness
He then covers planning, researching, and selling the design (or redesign) within the company, then moves on to a brief overview of platforms and technologies.
The rest of the book proceeds to show the designer how to create an effective and compelling site for his or her client. He covers content creation, accessibility, architecture & navigation; essential sections of a company website such as the Homepage, About page, Products, and Support pages; error pages, print-friendly pages, legal considerations, and SEO; email marketing, RSS, and advertising campaigns and metrics.
This book is an amazing collection of diverse information presented in a clear and concise fashion. It's not intended as an in-depth treatment of any of the subjects he covers--rather it's an invaluable checklist of essential tools and considerations for designing a top-notch company website.
"Web Design and Marketing Solutions for Business Websites" has become a valuable addition to my reference library, and it is one that I know I will reach for first when I am planning a new or redesigned business or service website.
Highest Recommendation--Current, Accessible, Complete
"Web Design and Marketing Solutions for Business Websites," by Kevin Potts,was first brought to my attention by my wife, Adrienne, a website designer whose business, Cloud Islands, develops business identity plans for internet marketing.
She recommended it to me as an extraordinarily useful text. I've found it particularly readable, including the chapters on platforms, content management, standards-based development, and other topics which normally are either over my head or simply difficult to read.
Potts' chapters on content and SEO are cogent, provide excellent examples, and are as useful as any I've ever read. The book is only several months old, so he is even using illustrations from Google Analytics new web configurations.
It's published by [...], which is a publishing house run by and for web designers.
I don't often recommend books for other people's professional libraries, but this one is proving very useful to me.
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