This online resource is a collection of tutorials, examples and explanations of terms, topics and techniques related to web page development and design. These pages were originally compiled to support a first-time offering of an introductory Web Page Design Course (CS105) at Saint Vincent College. The information contained in this resource is, for the most part, introductory in nature. The intent was to give both CIS majors and non-majors at least an introduction to the various aspects of web page development and design so that they might be able to develop web sites and get a basic understanding of web techniques. For those wanting more detailed information, please refer to the references section.

The chapters in this document deal primarily with XHTML and web programming techniques because I believe that effective Web designers will also have a deep knowledge of the technology behind the products they are creating. They will understand the possibilities and limitations of the web. However, web page development and design involves much more than technology and techniques. Web page design begins long before any web page is coded. It involves analysis of the goals of the web site, the goals of the target audience, usability and graphic design. These aspects of web page development and design are discussed just as much in the course as the technical aspects of web pages. There are number of good references about these non-technical aspects of web page design which are often neglected. Eric Reiss has written a very readable book on the process of information architecture. For issues regarding design, the reader is referred to three other books by Jeffrey Veen, Steve Krug, Horton and Lynch. Please refer to the reference section of these pages for more information on each of those texts as well as a listing of other pertinent books and online references.

The first subject covered in this online reference is popular mark-up languages and the differences between them. Several subsequent sections are dedicated to explanations and tutorial-style examples of XHTML tags. Chapter 11 deals with CSS and how they can be used to simplify web page design and enforce design consistency across all of the pages in a site. Subsequent sections deal with some of the technologies and techniques available for making XHTML pages more interactive. These chapters include examples of JavaScript, VBScripts, CGI Scripts, Active Server Pages and PHP Hypertext Processor.

If you decide to print any of the documents in this set, please be aware that some are quite long and you may wish to highlight and print only the section in which you are interested.