CSS Mastery

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxiii

   PDF

2. Setting the Foundations

   Pages 1-25

3. Visual Formatting Model Recap

   Pages 27-42

4. Background Images and Image Replacement

   Pages 43-67

5. Styling Links

   Pages 69-83

6. Styling Lists and Creating Nav Bars

   Pages 85-109

7. Styling Forms and Data Tables

   Pages 111-132

8. Layout

   Pages 133-152

9. Hacks and Filters

   Pages 153-166

10. Bugs and Bug Fixing

    Pages 167-184

11. Back Matter

    Pages 185-255

    PDF

This book is your indispensable guide to cutting-edge CSS development—all you need to work your way up to CSS professional.

While CSS is a relatively simple technology to learn, it is a difficult one to master. When you first start developing sites using CSS, you will come across all kinds of infuriating browser bugs and inconsistencies. It sometimes feels like there are a million and one different techniques to master, spread across a bewildering array of websites. The range of possibilities seems endless and makes for a steep and daunting learning curve.

By bringing all of the latest tips, tricks, and techniques together in one handy reference, this book demystifies the secrets of CSS and makes the journey to CSS mastery as simple and painless as possible. While most books concentrate on basic skills, this one is different, assuming that you already know the basics and why you should be using CSS in your work, and concentrating mainly on advanced techniques.

It begins with a brief recap of CSS fundamentals such as the importance of meaningful markup, how to structure and maintain your code, and how the CSS layout model really works.

With the basics out of the way, each subsequent chapter details a particular aspect of CSS-based design. Through a series of easy-to-follow tutorials, you will learn practical CSS techniques you can immediately start using in your daily work. Browser inconsistencies are the thorn in most CSS developers' sides, so we have dedicated two whole chapters to CSS hacks, filters, and bug fixing, as well as looking at image replacement; professional link, form, and list styling; pure CSS layouts; and much more.

All of these techniques are then put into practice in two beautifully designed case studies, written by two of the world's best CSS designers, Simon Collison and Cameron Moll.

• CSS
• Tutorial
• browser
• design
• development
• layout
• techniques

Cameron Moll has been designing meaningful web interfaces that harmonize utility and presentation since the late 1990s. His work or advice has been featured by HOW, Print, and Communication Arts magazines, Forrester Research, National Public Radio (NPR), and many others. He speaks on user interface design at conferences nationally and internationally, and he is also the author of Mobile Web Design. Cameron is the founder and president of Authentic Jobs, Inc., a targeted destination for web and creative professionals and the companies seeking to hire them. He is also the proprietor of Cameron Moll, LLC, whose products include letterpress typography posters available for purchase at cameronmoll.bigcartel.com. And amid all this craziness, he still finds time to play ball with each of his four boys. You can also find Cameron online at cameronmoll.com, twitter.com/cameronmoll, flickr.com/photos/authentic, and vimeo.com/cameronmoll.

Policies and ethics