Web Design with HTML and CSS

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Words of encouragement

Web Design with HTML and CSS Digital Classroom

Supporting HTML5 in older browsers

The following solutions let HTML5 elements be styled by Internet Explorer 6 or other older

browsers using some form of feature detection. In other words, when a browser that doesn’t

support HTML5 elements accesses your site, these JavaScript solutions allow you to use CSS that

will work with the older browser.

http://www.modernizr.com

Modernizr.com provides a service that detects the support of any visiting browser and access to

a downloadable JavaScript fi le that you can link to in your HTML5 pages. After linking to this

JavaScript fi le, you can have better control over the styles used for diff erent browsers.

http://www.html5boilerplate.com

This site off ers an entire set of fi les, including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, to provide designers

a template for a generic HTML5 site that has been tested by professionals. This site is a great

resource, but you should spend some time understanding the code.

html5shiv

This code is similar to the Modernizr code in that it allows Internet Explorer to recognize and

style HTML5 elements. You can fi nd it at http://code.google.com/p/html5shiv/.

Words of encouragement

When learning web design, remember that it is easier to learn something new than it is to

replace a concept you already learned with new skills. This was the case for the fi rst generation

of web designers who created page layouts with tables. In many cases, when CSS layout

became standard, it was not always easy to change habits and practices learned over the years.

The benefi t of the rapidly evolving web technologies is that opportunities exist for entry-

level designers. HTML5 and CSS3, for example, are still evolving languages and many

working web professionals don’t have the time to keep up with these developments. This

book has focused mainly on the technical skills and best practices that are the foundation of

a good twenty-fi rst-century web designer. It has not focused as much on the aesthetics of

web design, mainly because this is a function of experience, study, and a certain degree of

subjectivity. Web design is a craft, and, as with most crafts, you will develop your own style

through experience and feedback.