I was looking for a few resources about the changes between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 (which are common ways of expressing how the Internet has changed since its inception as the popular World Wide Web).
Naturally, the title jumped out at me and I picked up the book. Goto and Cotler create a real winner, although not in the way I was expecting. The actual information I was looking for was only inferred, not stated. Still, I learned so much about web design.
What the authors were trying to create is a process, a workflow that will help any website designer — professional or the rest of us — to create a site that helps improve the users' experience.
They set up a step-by-step workflow at the beginning of the book that takes the reader from defining the project and works in incremental steps to launching and beyond. I love the user centric approach as well as the comparisons of websites as they were in Web 1.0 and how they were changed.
Small business owners will find this book very helpful for them to get a handle on their websites (since I hear from many e-tailers that their sites have taken on a life of their own). The book is easy to read and not technical! Very user friendly.
If I could make a wish for a “next edition,” I would love it if the authors could spend as much time on design as they did on analysis and implementation. The design-related content is often implicit throughout the book instead of explicit and I think the book's value would more than double if it combined its great approach with more explanation on design.
Still, it comes highly recommended.
