WOW! eBook

The Truth About HTML5 (For Web Designers)

by · April 17, 2013

eBook Details:

  • Paperback: 268 pages
  • Publisher: WOW! eBook (May 18, 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1479158569
  • ISBN-13: 978-1479158560

eBook Description:

The Truth About HTML5 (For Web Designers)

This is a book for web designers, web developers, and front-end coders who want to get up to speed with the why and why not of HTML5 in 2012. This is the book that isn’t afraid to point out what everyone gets wrong about HTML5’s new markup, so you don’t make the same mistakes. This is the book that doesn’t think marking up a basic web page should be a quasi-religious exercise where the high priests of HTML5 must be consulted for their interpretation of the holy texts (the HTML5 spec).

This is the book that isn’t afraid to point out what everyone gets wrong about HTML5’s new markup, so you don’t make the same mistakes. This is the book that will show you what rocks in HTML5 today and what the future holds for interactivity and video now Flash is dying. This is the book that doesn’t think marking up a basic web page should be a quasi-religious exercise where the high priests of HTML5 must be consulted for their interpretation of the holy texts (the HTML5 spec).

Rather than simply looking at the what and how of HTML5 (though it does that), The Truth About HTML5 (For Web Designers) endeavors to explain the why and why not of HTML5. And it’s a passionate, informed, opinionated critique of much of HTML5 to boot. You’ll learn to think critically about HTML5 as a tool, and adopt the good parts, for good reasons, and ignore the less than useful parts, for the right reasons as well.

This is the book that will show you what rocks in HTML5 today and what the future holds for interactivity and video now Flash is dying.

This is the book that doesn’t think marking up a basic web page should be a quasi-religious exercise where the high priests of HTML5 must be consulted for their interpretation of the holy texts (the HTML5 spec).

This is the book that doesn’t pull its punches.

This is the book for web professionals who think for themselves.

This is the book that tells the truth about HTML5.

This is a book for web designers, web developers, and front-end coders who want to get up to speed with the why and why not of HTML5 in 2012.

This is the book that isn’t afraid to point out what everyone gets wrong about HTML5’s new markup, so you don’t make the same mistakes.

This is the book that will show you what rocks in HTML5 today and what the future holds for interactivity and video now Flash is dying.

This is the book that doesn’t think marking up a basic web page should be a quasi-religious exercise where the high priests of HTML5 must be consulted for their interpretation of the holy texts (the HTML5 spec).

This is the book that doesn’t pull its punches.

This is the book for web professionals who think for themselves.

This is the book that tells the truth about HTML5.

Rather than simply looking at the what and how of HTML5 (though it does that), The Truth About HTML5 (For Web Designers) endeavors to explain the why and why not of HTML5. And it’s a passionate, informed, opinionated critique of much of HTML5 to boot.

You’ll learn to think critically about HTML5 as a tool, and adopt the good parts, for good reasons, and ignore the less than useful parts, for the right reasons as well.

Luke Stevens has written a book all web designers and developers who care about their code should read. So go ahead and read it!

5 Reasons You Should Read The Truth About HTML5 (For Web Designers):

1. Learn HTML5 markup the right way

After spending an insane number of hours researching HTML5’s new markup I discovered one disturbing fact: everyone gets it wrong. Really.

Don’t waste hours trawling through confusing, poorly researched, and often flat-out wrong blog posts (or books). Get the truth on HTML5’s markup in chapter three and chapter four.

2. Learn about the future of semantics

Did you know Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft teamed up in 2011 to launch a new, potentially groundbreaking semantics initiative using HTML5’s new microdata standard?

They did, and the new semantics are being used by major sites like eBay and IMDB right now. In chapter seven you’ll be brought up to speed on one of the biggest changes to semantics to ever hit the web.

3. Learn what HTML5 features you can implement today

HTML5 isn’t one big blob of technology that will be “finished” at some point in the future. It’s a grab bag of cool stuff, much of which has been around for years.

Learn what’s well supported and ready to go today in 2012, including new forms features in chapter eight, and the new audio and video possibilities in chapter ten.

4. Learn what happens when Flash dies

The writing is on the wall for Flash. Apple never supported it on mobile; Adobe (Adobe!) have given up on the plug-in for Android; and Microsoft won’t support it in IE10 in the default desktop experience of Windows 8. (Let that sink in for a moment.)

Clients will demand HTML5 equivalents of what was done with Flash so we’ll look at what HTML’s Canvas can do in chapter nine and what HTML5 video can (and can’t) do in chapter ten.

5. HTML5 for CMSs, and beyond HTML5

Finally in chapter twelve we’ll look at some of the web app oriented features of HTML5, one of which (the History API) changes something as fundamental as a page refresh.

We’ll also touch on features that we should be demanding asking politely to be included in our CMSs, and we’ll look briefly at some post-HTML5 web standards development for mobile that’s becoming a reality right now.

Sound good? Buy yourself a copy of The Truth About HTML5 (For Web Designers) today.

HTML5 resources:

Finally, here’s a handful of books, sites and resources I’ve found helpful in writing The Truth About HTML5 (For Web Designers).

  • HTML5 specification – which is now the “HTML Living Standard”, but whatever. It’s HTML5. There’s a friendlier version available here.
  • That WHATWG site is where much of the development of HTML5 has been recorded, particularly on their blogand mailing list.
  • Want a weekly dose of all things HTML5? The HTML5 Weekly newsletter is an excellent weekly round-up of all things HTML5 and browser related, delivered straight to your inbox.
  • CanIUse.com is an indispensable site for getting a feel for what current browser support is like for HTML5 functionality (and plenty of related technology, like CSS3).
  • Wufoo’s excellent The Current State of HTML5 Formsis like CanIUse.com for HTML5 forms.
  • HTML5 Rocks is Google’s site for all things related to modern front-end development (they’re using “HTML5” very loosely), and their slides are a good way to get up to speed with the current bleeding edge of web technologies. The Mozilla Developer Network andDev.Opera are also chock-full of quality web tech content.
  • Schema Creator is a handy way to generate structured data semantics Google, Bing, and Yahoo! recommend using the new HTML5 microdata format (view source to see it in action here).
  • HTML5 Cross Browser Polyfills, or “The All-In-One Entirely-Not-Alphabetical No-Bullshit Guide to HTML5 Fallbacks” for the more web app oriented features.
  • Finally, an obligatory mention of the very popular and handy HTML5 kitchen sink Boilerplate (see theindex.html source) and Modernizr script, which I actually don’t recommend you dive into until you know what you’re doing. Read The Truth About HTML5 first.
  • Want more? There’s 500 links in The Truth About HTML5, so grab yourself a copy and get reading 🙂

About The Author

Hi, I’m Luke. I’m the independent author, publisher, and designer behind The Truth About HTML5. I’ve been building web sites for over a decade (usually with the excellent ExpressionEngine).

I thought it would be fun to write a book about HTML5. I thought HTML5 would be simple. I thought writing about it would be straightforward. And I thought the respected voices in the design community would be telling everyone what it is (and what it isn’t) simply and clearly, particularly with the plethora of other HTML5 books out there.

I was wrong.

Fortunately this book (and hopefully your experience as a reader!) is infinitely better for it. And I hope once you’ve read it you’ll share my concern about the strange direction basic markup has taken, and my excitement for the new HTML5 (and related) technologies that are coming soon to a browser near you. That includes Internet Explorer 10 Microsoft finally, truly gets web standards.

What seemed impossible just a few years ago a far-fetched, almost utopian ideal of all browser vendors, including Microsoft, competing tooth-and-nail to support bleeding-edge web standards is now a reality. Innovation in web standards is happening at a break-neck speed, and my hope is this book gets you up to speed not only with the fundamentals of HTML5, but with the broader picture of where the web as a whole is heading, especially as we look towards a post-Flash future.

The Truth About HTML5 is an opinionated book, not a dry explanation of the technology, and in it I state my views pretty strongly. I look forward to you checking out the book and doing the same. Passionate, considered debate makes us all smarter. So please check out the book, write it up on your blog, send me happy/sad/angry emails ([email protected]), talk to me on Twitter (@lukestevens), or whatever you like.

I look forward to the discussion and hope you enjoy the book!

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