Web design resources

These are various on-the-web resources I've found useful in doing web design.

HTML

W3C HTML home page

The home of the official specs and DTDs for HTML 4.0 (and HTML 3.2, and HTML 2.0).

WDG HTML 4.0 Reference

Much easier to use than the W3C's specification; the WDG also has a reference to HTML 3.2 (Wilbur).

W3C HTML Validation Service

The best (IMHO) of the on-line validators. Also lets you run WebLint on the page.

James Clark's SP (including nsgmls)

The basis for most of the on-line validators, and the best tool for doing your own validation. I have things set up so my pages get automatically validated before they're copied into the web server directory.

Style sheets

W3C Style Sheets page

The home of the official specifications for CSS, DSSSL, XSL, and other forms of style sheets.

WDG CSS1 Reference

As with their guides to HTML, the Web Design Group makes a much more usable reference guide than the official specifications.

Cascading Style Sheets Pointers

The central site for all things CSS; browser bugs, useful tips, example stylesheets, and much much more. Highly recommended for anyone interested in using CSS.

Usability and philosophy

Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox

The best discussion of web usability issues I've seen. Start by reading the highlighted "most popular columns", but I suggest sitting down and reading them all if you can.

Web Page Repair

Stephen Traub has written a number of articles discussing his techniques for making web pages interesting to look at without sacrificing portability and usability.

Warren Steel's Hints for Web Authors

Warren's web page design philosophy is a lot like mine, but his is written in a more step-by-step "how-to" style.

Alan Flavell's Text-friendly Authoring

Alan's done a wonderful job of putting together a set of pages about making your pages text-friendly (which doesn't mean not using images); this lets users with palmtops, drivers using in-car speaking browsers, and search engines get the most out of your site.