Best book about html and css

10+ Best HTML/CSS Books for Beginners and Advanced Coders

While there are tons of information about HTML/CSS coding out there, the irony is, finding the best HTML/CSS books and resources might not be that easy.

On the web, for instance, most of the guides and tutorials mix up their information in a way that makes it difficult to follow along from the start to the end. Then, if you happen to switch to YouTube videos, you’ll notice that although some of them provide helpful illustrations, they are pretty brief and incomprehensive.

As such, many coding beginners are forced to register for online HTML/CSS courses – while advanced coders, on the other hand, tend to rely on HTML/CSS forums.

Now that’s a good start. But, if we’re being honest, it doesn’t really get the job done. You see, while some HTML/CSS courses are great, they only work perfectly when you combine them with the best HTML/CSS books.

This doesn’t just apply to beginners. Even advanced coders need the best HTML/CSS books to learn and as references that’ll help them sharpen their skills. A well-written book or two can be handy when you need to catch up on the ever-changing web development trends.

Well, luckily for you, you don’t have to search far and wide. This resource rounds up and identifies the best HTML/CSS books available for both beginners and advanced coders in 2022. And yes – in case you’re wondering, we’ve also taken the time to sample opinions from various industry experts.

So, without further ado, here’s the complete guide to the 11 best HTML/CSS books (in no specific order).

Best books on HTML and CSS for all skill levels

1. HTML and CSS: Design and Build Websites – by Jon Duckett

First on our list of the best HTML/CSS books is this Amazon bestseller by Jon Duckett, a renowned web designer and developer with over 15 years of experience.

In this book, he tries to make HTML/CSS less intimidating by using simple but colorful infographics and screenshots to illustrate otherwise complex concepts. The layout itself is satisfyingly minimalistic, and you should have an easy time following along from cover to cover.

Overall, the book covers all the basics of HTML/CSS. You get to learn how to build a website from scratch, how to work with the languages on both macOS and PC, as well as how to design various website elements. Mr. Duckett has even included well-labeled screenshots of the text editor, showing the code examples in their original colors.

2. Head First HTML and CSS: A Learner’s Guide to Creating Standards-Based Web Pages – by Elisabeth Robson & Eric Freeman

If you’re tired of all the technical jargon in HTML/CSS forums and tutorials, this is the book for you. Eric Freeman and Elisabeth Robson collaborated to create a one-of-a-kind book that explains pretty much everything about static web page construction in a simplistic manner.

Instead of giving you the information in huge technical chunks, the book walks you through the principles just like a teacher would in an actual classroom. It systematically and incrementally reveals how you can apply HTML/CSS to all your web pages – while, at the same time, providing relevant graphics as guidance.

3. A Smarter Way to Learn HTML & CSS: Learn it faster. Remember it longer – by Mark Myers

In “A Smarter Way to Learn HTML & CSS: Learn it faster. Remember it longer”, Mark Myers takes the learning process a notch higher by including interactive exercises. Instead of just reading about HTML/CSS, you also get to practice everything online.

Sounds confusing? Okay, this is how it works. At the end of every chapter, the book directs you to a practice site where you’ll find questions in the form of interactive exercises. You’re supposed to answer everything correctly before proceeding. And in case you enter an incorrect answer, the system will redirect you to the question until you get it right.

4. Get Coding!: Learn HTML, CSS & JavaScript & Build a Website, App & Game – by Young Rewired State

If you’re in the market for the best HTML/CSS books for kids, you might want to check this one out. The book itself is authored by Young Rewired State, a global tech community composed of teens and kids. And yes – that’s precisely the same audience it targets.

Now, the good thing about this book is, it doesn’t stop at HTML/CSS. Rather, it goes beyond that by additionally helping kids with JavaScript coding.

Also, you’ll notice that the text used is simple enough for even eight-year-olds to understand. The book walks them through the three programming languages from scratch, before gradually transitioning to the tough topics. By the end of it all, the readers should have developed the basic skills for building websites, games, and apps using CSS, HTML and JavaScript.

5. Learning Web Design: A Beginner’s Guide to HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Web Graphics – by Jennifer Robins

Imagine learning HTML/CSS from the most experienced web designers in the world. Well, that’s precisely what you get from this book.

You see, Jennifer Robins has been building websites since 1993. That alone makes her one of the very few pioneers in web design, and one of the most experienced veterans on the globe.

And so, by reading this book, you can bet that you’ll be gaining decades-worth of insights into not only HTML/CSS, but also JavaScript. These are the three core languages that you’ll need to build a modern website.

Now, to be specific, the book shows you how to set up HTML pages with forms, tables, images, links, and text. Then when it comes to CSS, you get to find out how to apply it to animation effects, page layouts, text formatting, backgrounds, colors, and so forth.

Once armed with this knowledge, you be perfectly placed to complete your knowledge stack through the best PHP books.

6. HTML, CSS, and JavaScript All in One: Covering HTML5, CSS3, and ES6, Sams Teach Yourself – by Julie C. Meloni and Jennifer Kyrin

Speaking of HTML/CSS and JavaScript, another comprehensive resource for both beginners and advanced coders is Meloni and Kyrin’s “HTML, CSS, and JavaScript All in One”. You can think of it as the ultimate guide that’ll get you started with the three fundamental web development languages.

Basically, the book explains just how HTML, CSS, and JavaScript work together in contemporary web development, and then proceeds to provide well-organized step-by-step tutorials on how to leverage the three technologies simultaneously.

You’ll even find HTML5, CSS3, and ECMAScript 6 principles expertly integrated into each chapter. This is intended to teach you how to apply them to various contexts of web design.

7. HTML and CSS: Visual QuickStart Guide – by Elizabeth Castro and Bruce Hyslop

Bruce Hyslop and Elizabeth Castro’s “HTML and CSS: Visual QuickStart Guide” is all about the latest HTML and CSS essentials. It combines a simplistic and friendly tone with clear illustrations to train you how to format, structure, and design your website using today’s web design best practices.

You should have an easy time figuring out what HTML/CSS entails, and how to apply the techniques to your website’s multimedia, audio, video, forms, styles, links, images, and visual effects.

But, that’s not all. The two authors have also included tips that you could use to test your webpages and, subsequently, debug all the possible HTML/CSS issues.

8. HTML and CSS QuickStart Guide: The Simplified Beginners Guide to Developing a Strong Coding Foundation, Building Responsive Websites, and Mastering … of Modern Web Design – by David Durocher

Quite the title, I must admit. But, I guess that’s understandable considering all the stuff that David Durocher covers in the book.

Apart from HTML and CSS basics, you’ll find helpful notes on CSS styling, CSS elements, and HTML tags, as well as step-by-step tutorials on how to fit everything together to form an adequately responsive website.

You will, for instance, learn how to design, structure, and organize website gradients, sprites, forms, multimedia, images, fonts, and formatting. What’s more, the book provides insights into markup best practices, plus relevant practical examples of how to debug and update websites.

9.Responsive Web Design with HTML5 and CSS: Develop future-proof responsive websites using the latest HTML5 and CSS techniques – by Ben Frain

When it comes to UI design, you might want to get yourself Ben Frain’s “Responsive Web Design with HTML5 and CSS“. It happens to be one of the few best HTML/CSS books that exhaustively discusses user interface responsiveness across desktops, tablets, and mobile devices.

Right from the first page, the author engages readers in a relaxed and non-formal tone, while he walks them through all the HTML/CSS elements that affect website usability. You will, for instance, find chapters dedicated to CSS Grid, CSS Scroll Snap, font loading, variable fonts, user accessibility, plus much more.

It doesn’t stop there, though. The book provides further tips on developing animations, transformations, transitions, grid layouts, media queries, and other CSS front-end customizations.

10. CSS Pocket Reference: Visual Presentation for the Web – by Eric A. Meyer

As you start getting used to working with CSS, you might find yourself stuck from time to time. It’s during such occasions that Eric Meyer’s “CSS Pocket Reference: Visual Presentation for the Web” comes in handy.

Yes, that’s right. You can think of this as a quick reference guide, created specifically for intermediate to advanced web developers and designers. It provides answers to all the common queries about key CSS concepts, properties, and selectors. That includes even the latest trends on composing, filtering, masking, flexbox, clipping, animations, etc.

11. HTML5 and CSS3 All-in-One For Dummies – by Andy Harris

Last on our list of the best books to learn HTML and CSS is this all-in-one guide “for dummies,” which covers pretty much all the HML5 and CSS3 essentials.

In essence, this is where you’ll find beginner-friendly notes on the latest HTML/CSS versions. Andy Harris explains the fundamentals of working with HTML5 and CSS3, and then proceeds to reveal how you can seamlessly integrate them with Ajax, MySQL, and JavaScript to form truly functional websites.

So, in simple terms, you can expect to holistically cover not only basic design and layout, but also client-side elements, and server-side components. Seems like quite the book for both beginners and seasoned coders.

Your favorite of these best HTML/CSS books

And there you have it. The 10 best HTML/CSS books on the market today, perfect as a gift for the designer or developer in your life. You can go ahead and check them out on Amazon.

While you’re at it, though, keep in mind that most of these books come in multiple editions. So, you might want to confirm that you’re purchasing the latest version before committing further.

And with that, we wish you a happy reading!

👨🏽‍🏫 Interested in taking an online course to supplement your reading?

Are there any other interesting books about HTML/CSS that we missed? Let us know in the comments below.

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