Best Web Design Books

Updated September 2020
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BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing, and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. We only make money if you purchase a product through our links, and we never accept free products from manufacturers. Read more  
BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing, and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. We only make money if you purchase a product through our links, and we never accept free products from manufacturers. Read more  
BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing, and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. We buy all products with our own funds, and we never accept free products from manufacturers.Read more 
Bottom Line
Pros
Cons
Best of the Best
Ricardo Zea Mastering Responsive Web Design
Ricardo Zea
Mastering Responsive Web Design
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Bottom Line

A well-written look at responsive web design and all it entails, although you should already have some knowledge of basic web design before wading into it.

Pros

334 pages. Topics covered include Sass, HTML5, and CSS3. Learn how to design for a multitude of devices, particularly mobile. Good step-by-step walkthrough, written in a conversational style. Very detailed, with coded examples and links.

Cons

This book is for those who already have a basic knowledge of web development; not for complete beginners.

Best Bang for the Buck
Stefan Mischook Web Design - Start Here: A No-Nonsense, Jargon Free Guide to the Fundamentals of Web Design
Stefan Mischook
Web Design - Start Here: A No-Nonsense, Jargon Free Guide to the Fundamentals of Web Design
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Bottom Line

An engaging entry-level book on web design fundamentals, although some readers felt that it did not get into enough detail.

Pros

Good introduction to web design. Everything from learning how to plan and develop your site to search engine optimization and promotion. 224 pages. Clear and understandable. Well laid out with a lot of examples. Inexpensive.

Cons

Some felt that it was a little too bare bones, and that it didn't get very deep into the various topics.

Jon Duckett Web Design with HTML, CSS, JavaScript and jQuery Set
Jon Duckett
Web Design with HTML, CSS, JavaScript and jQuery Set
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Bottom Line

While this 2-volume set covers a lot of web design areas, those who already have some knowledge here may not get a lot out of them.

Pros

2-book set includes "HTML & CSS: Designing and Building Web Sites" and "JavaScript & jQuery: Interactive Front-End Development." 1152 pages total. Good, clear coverage of the basics. Helps you become proficient in HTML and CSS before moving on to more challenging topics. Well organized, and easy to read. Good for beginners.

Cons

The bindings of these books are of poor quality. Some found the pace of these to be slow, and the illustrations and diagrams to be unhelpful.

Jennifer Robbins Learning Web Design: A Beginner's Guide to HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Web Graphics
Jennifer Robbins
Learning Web Design: A Beginner's Guide to HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Web Graphics
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Bottom Line

A good introductory web design book that covers everything from HTML and CSS to Javascript and graphics optimization.

Pros

A beginners guided to web design basics. Topics include HTML, CSS, and responsive web design. Easy to read and use. 624 pages. Well designed, with a nice layout. Written in a friendly style. Includes helpful exercises and free online companion resources.

Cons

The ebook version is strangely formatted and hard to use (i.e. no page numbers). A good coverage of the basics, but lacking in depth.

Sue Jenkins Web Design All-in-One For Dummies
Sue Jenkins
Web Design All-in-One For Dummies
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Bottom Line

A well-written intermediate-level reference book that deals with all aspects of creating, hosting, and maintaining a web site.

Pros

5 sections take you from "Getting Started" to "Publishing and Site Maintenance." Covers HTML5, CSS3, and other core web design topics. 688 pages. Well written and useful, particularly as a reference book. Intermediate level.

Cons

Not really geared toward a beginning web designer. Some felt that it focuses too much on Adobe Dreamweaver.

Why trust BestReviews?
BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing, and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. We only make money if you purchase a product through our links, and we never accept free products from manufacturers. Read more  
BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing, and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. We only make money if you purchase a product through our links, and we never accept free products from manufacturers. Read more  
BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing, and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. We buy all products with our own funds, and we never accept free products from manufacturers.Read more 
How we decided

We purchase every product we review with our own funds — we never accept anything from product manufacturers.

48 Models Considered
9 Hours Researched
1 Experts Interviewed
373 Consumers Consulted
Zero products received from manufacturers.

We purchase every product we review with our own funds — we never accept anything from product manufacturers.

They don’t call it the “worldwide” web for nothing, there’s a lot to know about the Internet. One facet that requires a lot of practice, learning, and application is web design. If you have a passion for this or are looking to dabble in it, you don’t necessarily need to go through the trouble of taking a class to learn how to work in this space. Instead, enlist in the help of a web design book to learn basic skills or even some that are more in depth.  These books are an impressive tool for beginners or those who are more familiar with web design alike, making them a worthwhile read and purchase.

Other Products We Considered
The BestReviews editorial team researches hundreds of products based on consumer reviews, brand quality, and value. We then choose a shorter list for in-depth research and testing before finalizing our top picks. These are the products we considered that ultimately didn't make our top 5.
Paul McFedries
Web Design Playground
Jason Beaird & James George
The Principles of Beautiful Web Design
Rob Ford & Julius Wiedemann
Web Design
Darryl King
The Complete Website Planning Guide
Mario Casciaro & Luciano Mammino
Node.js Design Patterns
Terry Felke-Morris
Web Development and Design Foundations with HTML5
Jennifer Robbins
Learning Web Design
Carlos Santana Roldan
React Design Patterns and Best Practices
Patrick McNeil
The Web Designer's Idea Book Volume 3
Jon Duckett
JavaScript and jQuery
Susan Fowler, Victor Stanwick
Web Application Design Handbook
Robin Nixon
Learning PHP, MySQL & JavaScript
Anne Boehm, Zak Ruvalcaba
Murach's HTML5 and CSS3, 4th Edition
Tom Greever
Articulating Design Decisions
Patrick McNeil
Web Designer's Idea Book, Volume 4
Chris Richardson
Microservices Patterns
Jon Duckett
HTML and CSS
Sue Jenkins
Web Design All-in-One For Dummies
Steve Krug
Don't Make Me Think, Revisited
Jonathan LeBlanc, Tim Messerschmidt
Identity and Data Security for Web Development
Lea Verou
CSS Secrets
Artur Ejsmont
Web Scalability for Startup Engineers
Harvey Deitel & Associates, Harvey Deitel, Abbey Deitel
Internet and World Wide Web How To Program
Jon Duckett
JavaScript and JQuery 1st Edition
Dafydd Stuttard, Marcus Pinto
The Web Application Hacker's Handbook
Regine M. Gilbert
Inclusive Design for a Digital World
Michael Uschold
Demystifying OWL for the Enterprise
Boris Cherny
Programming TypeScript
Jill West, Tamara Dean, Jean Andrews
Network+ Guide to Networks
Nicholas S. Williams
Professional Java for Web Applications
See more
The team that worked on this review
  • Melinda
    Melinda
    Web Producer
  • Rich
    Rich
    Writer
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Ricardo Zea

Mastering Responsive Web Design

Ricardo Zea

Mastering Responsive Web Design

A well-written look at responsive web design and all it entails, although you should already have some knowledge of basic web design before wading into it.
$49
×

Jon Duckett

Web Design with HTML, CSS, JavaScript and jQuery Set

Jon Duckett

Web Design with HTML, CSS, JavaScript and jQuery Set

While this 2-volume set covers a lot of web design areas, those who already have some knowledge here may not get a lot out of them.
$47
×

Jennifer Robbins

Learning Web Design: A Beginner's Guide to HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Web Graphics

Jennifer Robbins

Learning Web Design: A Beginner's Guide to HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Web Graphics

A good introductory web design book that covers everything from HTML and CSS to Javascript and graphics optimization.
$37
×

Sue Jenkins

Web Design All-in-One For Dummies

Sue Jenkins

Web Design All-in-One For Dummies

A well-written intermediate-level reference book that deals with all aspects of creating, hosting, and maintaining a web site.
$38
×

Stefan Mischook

Web Design - Start Here: A No-Nonsense, Jargon Free Guide to the Fundamentals of Web Design

Stefan Mischook

Web Design - Start Here: A No-Nonsense, Jargon Free Guide to the Fundamentals of Web Design

An engaging entry-level book on web design fundamentals, although some readers felt that it did not get into enough detail.
$20

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