For readers who want to design Web pages that load quickly, are easy to update, accessible to all, work on all browsers and can be quickly adapted to different media, this comprehensive guide represents the best way to go about it. By focusing on the ways the two languages--XHTML and CSS--complement each other, Web design pro Patrick Griffiths provides the fastest, most efficient way of accomplishing specific Web design tasks. With Web standards best practices at its heart, it outlines how to do things the right way from the outset, resulting in highly optimized web pages, in a quicker, easier, less painful way than users could hope for! Split into 10 easy-to-follow chapters such as Text, Images, Layout, Lists, and Forms, and coupled with handy quick-reference XHTML tag and CSS property appendixes, HTML Dog is the perfect guide and companion for anyone wanting to master these languages. Readers can also see the lessons in action with more than 70 online examples constructed especially for the book.

Patrick Griffiths of London, England, has been an HTML specialist since 1999. He has worked in this specific capacity for, amongst others, Vodafone, educational establishments, and on various government projects. More recently, as a developer and instructor for his own company, Vivabit, he has given expert training to organizations such as Amnesty International, Legal and General, and London’s Natural History Museum. As well as writing and maintaining the HMTL Dog Web site, he has contributed to resources such as A List Apart and the CSS Zen Garden, and is an active, well-known member of the web design community.

For readers who want to design Web pages that load quickly, are easy to update, accessible to all, work on all browsers and can be quickly adapted to different media, this comprehensive guide represents the best way to go about it. By focusing on the ways the two languages--XHTML and CSS--complement each other, Web design pro Patrick Griffiths provides the fastest, most efficient way of accomplishing specific Web design tasks. With Web standards best practices at its heart, it outlines how to do things the right way from the outset, resulting in highly optimized web pages, in a quicker, easier, less painful way than users could hope for! Split into 10 easy-to-follow chapters such as Text, Images, Layout, Lists, and Forms, and coupled with handy quick-reference XHTML tag and CSS property appendixes, HTML Dog is the perfect guide and companion for anyone wanting to master these languages. Readers can also see the lessons in action with more than 70 online examples constructed especially for the book.

For readers who want to design Web pages that load quickly, are easy to update, accessible to all, work on all browsers and can be quickly adapted to different media, this comprehensive guide represents the best way to go about it. By focusing on the ways the two languages--XHTML and CSS--complement each other, Web design pro Patrick Griffiths provides the fastest, most efficient way of accomplishing specific Web design tasks. With Web standards best practices at its heart, it outlines how to do things the right way from the outset, resulting in highly optimized web pages, in a quicker, easier, less painful way than users could hope for! Split into 10 easy-to-follow chapters such as Text, Images, Layout, Lists, and Forms, and coupled with handy quick-reference XHTML tag and CSS property appendixes, HTML Dog is the perfect guide and companion for anyone wanting to master these languages. Readers can also see the lessons in action with more than 70 online examples constructed especially for the book.

For readers who want to design Web pages that load quickly, are easy to update, accessible to all, work on all browsers and can be quickly adapted to different media-this comprehensive guide represents the best way to go about it. By focusing on the ways the two languages-XHTML and CSS-complement each other, Web design pro Patrick Griffiths provides the fastest, most efficient way of accomplishing specific Web design tasks. In succinct, approachable fashion, Patrick takes readers through every aspect of page coding (text, forms, page layout, and so on), describing the available code and warning of potential pitfalls. The book is peppered throughout with sidebars containing hands-on instruction in important techniques and tables with code options and syntax.

fast and easy
thank you very much. delivery made in very short time, used book in excellent conditions.

great,

thank you

Best Practice XHTML & CSS
A well thought out book, easy to read and understand without knowing HTML or CSS. This is one of those book you cannot trash but only keep in your packet.

Great Book
HTML Dog is an amazing book for those who works with web sites development. Easy to read, easy to use, cheap to buy!

Excellent guide to using CSS with XHTML Strict
This book is not a comprehensive encyclopedia of every CSS nuance, but it presents all the main areas in a very clear, but not dumbed-down manner. Basically it answered my three questions:
1. I wanted to re-write an older web site using CSS and modern HTML web stds, so where do I start?
2. What is my best approach?
3. Why would I want to do it that way?
So along the way it clarified for me how I should use divs for page structure, improve my navigation lists, specify font size in the best manner, and most of all how to use css in a structured way with minimal rewriting of styles etc for subtle changes in page requirements.
The book is probably most useful if you want to follow his emphasis and use XHTML Strict with CSS.
Very nicely written, very cleanly laid out. The associated website is useful, but the book stands alone as a very useful reference or starter for someone wanting to design their pages in an effective standards-based way.

Good content but...
what about the white space?

The book has been written by an author that obviously knows his stuff and there’s plenty in here that’ll help anyone get started with using XHTML (or HTML for that matter), and in a way that’ll ensure that content and presentation are well separated and that the best possible use is being made of CSS features. Even those who feel they’ve got a grip on the whole thing will find there’s something here to make them think again about what they’ve been coding.

The writing style is chatty and for the most part it manages to seem like someone ’older and wiser’ in the office offering help and advice from their vast experience. It’s a book you can browse.

The main thing that’s missing is information on dealing with the differences between browsers, and you’ll probably need another book for that. The CSS Anthology is pretty good in this respect and would complement this book quite well.

So, what about the white space? I really thought I’d seen the last of books with acres of white space around the page and using widely spaced lines. But apparently not. In fact this is one of the worst offenders I’ve seen in quite a while. It’s so bad I actually measured the pages and borders. A page is 170mm by 230mm and the text on it is 115mm by 147mm. That’s close to a third of a page that’s blank. In addition, there are appendices for CSS and HTML specifications that are equally generously proportioned. The book could have been small and light enough slip into a bag without noticing it if the space had been better used.

5 stars for content, 3 for that wasted paper

Nice Presentation, lack depth and quick illustration
He has nice writing and presentation style.
The book presents a nice introduction to those looking for a quick information. The quick is actually questionable, since you will have to go to his website and click each link to see output of simple HTML tag illustrations.

It lacks depth on many topics, and having to go to his home page to see the outputs of simple tag illustrations is boring. Books should have the information where I needed it, quickly see the output to know what is going on. If I need an e-book, I will buy one.
Most of the illustrations only give a real web-site, and not the codes he is trying to illustrate.
Whether he is got a nice web-site is not really relevant.

book + website= success
I have never written a review before, but know feel compelled to do so.If you are serious about wanting to learn html, don’t buy any of the 24hr quick learn rubbish, buy this book and follow the tutorials on th HTML Dog website. True, this book is fairly advanced, but the website starts it’s tutotials from beginner,and they are concise and more importantly, written in xhtml strict. Buy this book along with HTML Mastery and Beginning CSS and CSS Missing Manual and you won’t need anything else to learn how to write perfect code.

Best of show
I spent some time really digging into other books in this category (library) with the intention of getting up to speed with modern web coding and best practices. I found this text to be the most useful, both as a learning resource and future reference guide and so, HTML Dog is now on my shelf.

best CSS book ever written
By far the best CSS manual I’ve ever read and I’ve read many of them. The writing, style, examples.. everything is lucid, easy to read, easy to understand. Perfect. Thank you Mr. Griffiths.

Excellent Guide to XHTML and CSS - Clear, Concise and Comical
Patrick Griffiths - I salute you. I was in need of a guide to XHTML and CSS that would give me a good solid grounding on which to develop my new interest in web design. In the past, I had learnt from trial and error and various internet articles, but this book has changed the way I look at web design. Its chapters are very well laid out - they are clear, concise and instead of screeds of technical jargon, it is packed full of useful and interesting background information about web standards and straight-forward step-by-step instructions in plain English (with a few jokes along the way to hold your attention). Based on "web standards" and "best-practice" I know that the websites I will create with this book by my side will be of a high standard. This book has taken up residence next to my computer and I can see it staying there for a long time to come, as the appendixes are great references for each language.

A Superb Reference
Clear, concise, accurate. If I could only keep one CSS/XHTML book on my desk, this would be the one.

The author also provides an excellent website that builds on the topics covered in the book[...]

HTML Dog - worth the biscuits
I ordered this book after reading the multitude of tutorials on Patrick Griffiths’ website. I’m happy to say that it was a fantastic investment and has enabled me, in a simple, entertaining and easy way, to learn the intricacies of HTML and CSS.

Griffiths moves from detailed explanations of the difference between HTML and CSS, not only outlining examples, but also the practical reasons for using these web technologies together, then to more complex issues, such as layout. The book is full of web wizardry and expert tips all written in a casual and easy to read style.

I was so pleased with this book that I also bought the CSS Zen Garden book (also published by New Riders), which is another gem.

The Best Practice Guide is a worthy read for anybody wishing to learn standards based web development or simply wanting a decent reference. Highly recommended.

Not very helpful
After many hours of study with this book and much experimentation I am still unable to produce rudimentary layout of columns with XHTML and CSS. It could be that these technologies are not implemented in browsers, or the technologies do not work well enough to be worth the time of anyone other than a professional web designer. But this book glosses over the difficulties.

The author preaches too much about web standards. This many pages could contain more helpful advice and examples.

Nonetheless, the book contains a good bit of information. It seems well edited and carefully prepared. But it is failing to help me accomplish my goal.