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Murach's HTML and CSS (5th Edition)
This 5th edition of our best-selling book integrates all of the HTML and CSS skills that are needed on the job with the proven instructional approach that made the first 4 editions of this book so popular. And now, this new edition is in full color, making it easier and quicker than ever to master the subject as you see the effects of HTML and CSS coding changes right away.
College Instructors
Go to our instructor's site to learn more about this book and its instructor's materials.
I want to let you know how much I enjoy your HTML book, all the cool things I am learning that continually have me saying ‘wow’ as I go through the chapters.”
Dawn Kaczor, Business Owner, Massachusetts
- About this Book
- Table of Contents
- FREE Downloads
- Book FAQs
- Corrections
- Reviews
What this book does
This book gets you going with HTML and CSS as quickly as possible and then builds out your skills in a professional way. To make that manageable, it’s divided into four sections.
Section 1: The essential concepts and skills
This book starts with an 8-chapter course that shows you how to use HTML and CSS to build websites. This course works for beginners as well as experienced web designers. And the last chapter shows you how to use media queries and scalable images to implement Responsive Web Design (RWD) so your pages will look good and work right on any screen, from phone to tablet to desktop.
When you complete this section of the book, you’ll be able to develop web pages at a professional level. Then, you can go on to any other section or chapter to learn new skills whenever you need them.
Section 2: Responsive Web Design
The two chapters in this section show you how to use Flexible Box Layout and Grid Layout to provide RWD for web pages and portions of web pages. These are CSS modules that enhance what you learned in section 1, and every professional web developer needs to know how to use them.
Section 3: Other skills as you need them
This section expands on section 1 by presenting the other HTML and CSS skills that you’ll need on the job. That includes:
- More on how to work with images, including how to provide images for varying viewport sizes and how to work with icons, image maps, and image rollovers
- When and how to use tables, including how to make them responsive
- How to work with forms and the HTML validation features
- How to add audio and video to your pages
- How to use custom fonts, a skill that will make the day for your graphics designers
- How to use the CSS features for transitions, animations, transforms, and filters
Section 4: Web design, deployment, and JavaScript
Once you have a good grasp of how to develop web pages, you can better understand what you’ll do before and after you write the code. That’s where the 3 chapters in this section come in:
- Chapter 16 shows how to make you websites more effective by focusing on users, usability, and the established guidelines for web design.
- Chapter 17 not only shows how to deploy a site on an Internet server, but also shows how to get the site indexed by the major search engines.
- Chapter 18 shows how to add JavaScript and jQuery features like image swaps and slide shows to web pages...without knowing how to code JavaScript and jQuery.
By the way, after you read chapter 18, you’ll probably want to learn how to write your own JavaScript and jQuery routines to customize your websites. So when you’re ready for that, you can get our JavaScript and jQuery book.
Who this book is for
This book is for anyone who wants to develop web pages at a thoroughly professional level. That includes:
- budding web designers and developers
- web developers who need to expand and enhance their skillsets
- JavaScript programmers who need to know more about the HTML and CSS that they’re scripting
- web developers who use Content Management Systems and discover that they desperately need to know what’s going on behind the scenes
What's new in this book
At long last, HTML and CSS have come of age, so there are no significant content additions in this edition of the book. Besides that, all modern browsers support all of the HTML and CSS features, so browser compatibility is no longer an issue that needs to be addressed.
That left us free to focus on simplifying and improving every chapter so you can learn faster and better than ever from this book. We’ve also printed the book in full color. That’s a change that’s been requested for many years...and we agree: color makes many of the skills easier to understand. It also makes this book an even better on-the-job reference.
The only significant content change is that the book now shows you how to use Visual Studio Code (VS Code) as your text editor. That’s the text editor that has become so popular for all types of program development, including web development with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. And chapter 2 provides a tutorial that shows you how to use it for HTML and CSS.
Why you'll learn faster and better with this book
Like all our books, this one has features that you won’t find in competing books. That’s why we believe you’ll learn faster and better with our book than with any other. Here are a few of those features:
- If you page through this book, you’ll see that all of the information on each topic is presented in “paired pages,” with the essential syntax, guidelines, and examples on the right page and the perspective and extra explanation on the left. This helps you learn faster by reading less...and it’s ideal for quick reference, too.
- To show you how HTML and CSS work, this book presents the code for complete websites that range from the simple to the complex. We believe that studying the code for complete websites is critical to learning...and yet you won’t find applications like ours in other books.
- This book also presents dozens of short examples that let you (1) master new skills in manageable bites and (2) look up information as you need it. And our paired pages make it much easier to find the example you need than it is with other books that embed the examples in the text.
- At the end of each chapter, there are exercises that give you hands-on experience by letting you practice what you’ve learned. These exercises also encourage you to experiment and to apply what you’ve learned in new ways…just as you’ll have to do on the job.
What software you need
A text editor
Although you can use a text editor as simple as Notepad to code HTML and CSS, a text editor that includes syntax coloring, auto-completion, and error-marking will help you build web pages more quickly and with fewer errors. That in turn means that you will learn faster.
That’s why our book recommends VS Code as the text editor. This editor was developed by Microsoft; it’s available for free; it can be used for HTML and CSS (and JavaScript, too); and it runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux systems.
To help you get going with VS Code, the appendix in our book shows how to download and install it on Windows and macOS. And chapter 2 shows you how to use it.
Of course, if you already have a favorite editor or IDE, you can use that. But if you don’t have a favorite, VS Code is hard to beat.
The Chrome browser
To run and test web applications, you should use at least two browsers. Since Edge is always available with Windows and Safari with macOS, you already have one browser.
Then, for the second browser, you should install Chrome because it’s the most popular browser and because this book shows how to use some of its developer tools. That’s why the appendix in this book shows how to download and install Chrome.
Related books
Modern JavaScript
If you want to learn how to add client-side functionality to your web pages, our Modern JavaScript book shows how to use pure JavaScript to do that. To make learning as fast and easy as possible, this book skips confusing old features and jumps straight to the current features and best practices of modern JavaScript.
JavaScript and jQuery
If you need to learn jQuery, we recommend our JavaScript and jQuery book. This book is similar to Modern JavaScript in many ways, but it integrates coverage of jQuery, an influential JavaScript library that has been around since 2006 and is still used extensively in millions of websites.
What people say about this book
“I just want to let you know how much I enjoy your HTML book, all the cool things I am learning that continually have me saying ‘wow’ as I go through the chapters.”
- Dawn Kaczor, Business Owner, Massachusetts
"An excellent source for anybody, novice or professional, looking to get started with HTML and CSS. It is my go-to guide when I’m designing web pages."
- Jamie McMahon, DreamInCode.net
“For me, the great thing about this book is the way it is laid out. Information is on the left page and the visual of what is being discussed is on the right page - genius!”
- Posted at an online bookseller
“Entry-level options don't get any better.You'll have all the skills you need to create basic web pages by the end, including HTML structure, styling with CSS, mobile web design, as well as basic JavaScript and jQuery skills.”
- Posted at an online bookseller
“What makes the book better than so many other technical books is how it uses a running example that becomes more complex, and weaves in lots of CSS along the way. It's been very helpful towards learning the fundamentals, and not merely being used as a cookbook.”
- Posted at an online bookseller
“I was very impressed with how this book was structured and organized. Unlike other programming books, it was not boring at all and it was so well written that it was very easy to follow, understand, and most importantly, to LEARN from.”
- Posted at an online bookseller
"This is not just a training book, but also something of a cookbook and reference guide. I can see it not spending much time on my bookshelf!"
- David Bolton, news.dice.com
“In the typical Murach style, this book walks you through HTML in a clever step-by-step fashion, making it extremely easy to learn and remember. As an added benefit, the book teaches you best practices for making your web page easily accessible on the web, along with SEO every step of the way.”
- Posted at an online bookseller
“It's the first time I bought a book and enjoyed every page of it. I've been doing web developing for a while. Never saw a book like this. A++++”
- Posted at an online bookseller
View the table of contents for this book in a PDF: Table of Contents (PDF)
Click on any chapter title to display or hide its content.
Section 1 The essential concepts and skills
Chapter 1 Introduction to web development
How web applications work
The components of a web application
How static web pages are processed
How dynamic web pages are processed
How JavaScript fits into web development
An introduction to HTML and CSS
The HTML for a web page
The CSS for a web page
A short history of the HTML and CSS standards
Tools for web development
Text editors and IDEs
FTP clients
How to view a web page and its source code
How to view a web page
How to view the source code for a web page
Four critical web development issues
Responsive Web Design
Cross-browser compatibility
Web accessibility
Search engine optimization
Chapter 2 How to code, test, and validate a web page
The HTML syntax
The basic structure of an HTML document
How to code elements and tags
How to code attributes
How to code comments and whitespace
The CSS syntax
How to code CSS style rules and comments
How to code basic selectors
How to use VS Code to develop web pages
How to work with folders
How to work with files
How to edit an HTML file
How to use the HTMLHint extension to find HTML errors
How to edit a CSS file
How to use the Live Server extension to open an HTML file in a browser
How to test and debug a web page
How to test a web page
How to debug a web page
How to validate HTML and CSS files
How to validate an HTML file
How to validate a CSS file
Chapter 3 How to use HTML to structure a web page
How to code the head section
How to include metadata
How to code the title element and link to a favicon
How to present the contents of a web page
How to code the lang attribute
How to code headings and paragraphs
How to code the structural elements
When and how to use div elements
Other elements for presenting text
How to code the inline elements for text
How to use character entities and three block elements for text
How to code links, lists, and images
How to code URLs
How to code links
How to code lists
How to include images
A structured web page
The page layout
The HTML file
Chapter 4 How to use CSS to format the elements of a web page
An introduction to CSS
How to provide CSS styles for a web page
How to use the basic selectors to apply CSS to HTML elements
When and how to use the normalize style sheet for browser compatibility
How to specify measurements and colors
How to specify measurements
How to specify colors
How to use advanced techniques to specify colors
How to work with text
How to set the font family and font size
How to set the properties for styling and formatting fonts
How to add shadows to text
How to float an image so text flows around it
How to use other selectors to apply styles
How to code relational, combination, and attribute selectors
How to code pseudo-class and pseudo-element selectors
How the cascade rules work
The HTML and CSS for a web page
The page layout
The HTML file
The CSS file
How to use Developer Tools and custom properties
How to use Developer Tools to inspect the styles that have been applied
How to create and use custom properties
Chapter 5 How to use the CSS box model
An introduction to the box model
How the box model works
A web page that illustrates the box model
How to size and space elements
How to set widths and heights
How to set margins
How to set padding
A web page that illustrates sizing and spacing
The HTML for the web page
The CSS for the web page
A version of the CSS that uses a reset selector
How to set borders and backgrounds
How to set borders
How to add rounded corners and shadows to borders
How to set background colors and images
How to set background gradients
A web page that uses borders and backgrounds
The HTML for the web page
The CSS for the web page
Chapter 6 How to use CSS for page layout
How to develop 2- and 3-column page layouts
How to float and clear elements
How to use floating in a 2-column, fixed-width layout
How to use floating in a 2-column, fluid layout
How to use floating in a 3-column, fixed-width layout
A home page with a 2-column, fixed-width layout
The home page
The HTML for the home page
The CSS for the home page
A speaker page with a 2-column, fixed-width layout
The speaker page
The HTML for the speaker page
The CSS for the speaker page
How to create text columns
The properties for creating text columns
A 2-column web page with a 2-column article
How to position elements
Four ways to position an element
How to use absolute positioning
How to use fixed positioning
Chapter 7 How to work with lists, links, and navigation menus
How to code lists
How to code unordered lists
How to code ordered lists
How to code nested lists
How to code description lists
How to format lists
How to change the bullets for an unordered list
How to change the numbering system for an ordered list
How to change the alignment of list items
How to code links
How to link to another page
How to format links
How to use a link to open a new browser window or tab
How to create and link to placeholders
How to link to a media file
How to create email and phone links
How to create navigation menus
How to create a vertical navigation menu
How to create a horizontal navigation menu
How to create a 2-tier navigation menu
How to create a 3-tier navigation menu
The CSS for a 3-tier navigation menu
Chapter 8 How to use media queries for Responsive Web Design
Introduction to Responsive Web Design
The three components of a Responsive Web Design
How to test a responsive design
How to implement a fluid design
Fluid layouts vs. fixed layouts
How to convert fixed widths to fluid widths
How to use other units of measure with responsive design
How to size fonts
How to scale images
A web page with fluid design
The HTML for the web page
The CSS for the web page
How to use media queries
How to control the mobile viewport
How to code media queries
How to determine the breakpoints for media queries
How to build responsive menus with the SlickNav plugin
A web page with Responsive Web Design
The design of the web page
The CSS for the media queries
The CSS when using mobile-first coding
The CSS for the smallest viewports
The CSS for the media queries
Section 2 Responsive Web Design
Chapter 9 How to use Flexible Box Layout for Responsive Web Design
An introduction to Flexible Box Layout
The basic flexbox concepts
How to create your first flexible box
How to set flexbox properties
How to align flex items along the main axis
How to align flex items along the cross axis
How to wrap and align wrapped flex items
How to allocate space to flex items
How to change the order of flex items
A responsive web page that uses flexbox
The design of the web page
The HTML for the main structural elements
The CSS for larger screens
The CSS for smaller screens
Chapter 10 How to use Grid Layout for Responsive Web Design
Getting started with Grid Layout
An introduction to Grid Layout
How to create a basic grid
How to set the size of grid tracks
The properties for aligning grid items and tracks
A page layout that uses alignment
How to define the grid areas for elements
How to use numbered lines
How to use named lines
How to use template areas
How to use the 12-column grid concept
A responsive web page that uses grid layout
The design of the web page
The HTML for the structural elements
The CSS for the template areas
The media query for smaller screens
The CSS for the page with a 12-column grid
Common page layouts that use grid
The headline and gallery layout
The fixed sidebar layout
The advanced grid layout
Section 3 More HTML and CSS skills as you need them
Chapter 11 How to work with images, icons, and fonts
Basic skills for working with images
Types of images for the Web
How to include an image on a page
How to resize an image
How to align an image vertically
How to float an image
Other skills for working with images
How to use the HTML figure and figcaption elements
How to do image rollovers
How to create image maps
How to provide images for varying viewport sizes
How to use the img and picture elements
How to use Scalable Vector Graphics
How to get the images and icons that you need
When to use an image editor
How to get images
How to get and work with icons and favicons
How to work with fonts
How to embed fonts in a web page
How to use Google and Adobe Web Fonts
Chapter 12 How to work with tables
Basic HTML skills for coding tables
An introduction to tables
How to create a table
How to add a header and footer
Basic CSS skills for formatting tables
How to use CSS to format a table
How to use the CSS structural pseudo-classes for formatting tables
Other skills for working with tables
How to use the HTML figure and figcaption elements with tables
How to merge cells in a column or row
How to provide for accessibility
How to make a table responsive
Chapter 13 How to work with forms
How to use forms and controls
How to create a form
How to use buttons
How to use text fields and text areas
How to use radio buttons, check boxes, and labels
How to use drop-down lists and list boxes
How to use the number, email, url, and tel controls
How to use the date and time controls
Other skills for working with forms
How to align controls
How to group controls
How to set the tab order and assign access keys
How to use the HTML features for data validation
The HTML attributes and CSS selectors for data validation
How to use regular expressions for data validation
A web page with a form
The page layout
The HTML
The CSS
How to use other HTML controls
How to use the search control
How to use the file upload control
How to use the color, range, progress, and meter controls
How to use a data list and an output control
Chapter 14 How to add audio and video to a web page
An introduction to media on the web
Common media types for audio and video
How to convert a file from one media type to another
How to use the HTML audio and video elements
A web page with audio and video
The page layout
The HTML
Chapter 15 How to use CSS transitions, transforms, animations, and filters
How to use CSS transitions
How to code transitions
How to create an accordion using transitions
How to use CSS transforms
How to code 2D transforms
A gallery of images with 2D transforms
How to use CSS animations
How to code simple animations
How to set the keyframes for a slide show
How to use CSS filters
How to code filters
The ten filter methods applied to the same image
Section 4 Web design, deployment, and JavaScript
Chapter 16 Users, usability, and web design
Users and usability
What web users want is usability
The current conventions for usability
Design guidelines
Use mobile-first design
Use the home page to sell the site
Let the users know where they are
Make the best use of web page space
Divide long pages into shorter chunks
Know the principles of graphics design
Write for the web
Chapter 17 How to deploy a website
How to transfer files to and from an Internet server
How to connect to a website on the Internet
How to upload and download files
How to test a web page that has been uploaded to the Internet server
How to start your own website
How to get a web host
How to get a domain name
How to get your website into search engines
How to set up, maintain, and improve a website
Chapter 18 How to use JavaScript to enhance your web pages
Introduction to JavaScript
How JavaScript works
Three ways to include JavaScript in a web page
How DOM scripting works
Methods and properties for DOM scripting
How JavaScript handles events
The Email List application in JavaScript
The HTML
The JavaScript
Introduction to jQuery
How to include jQuery in your web pages
How to code jQuery selectors, methods, and event methods
The Email List application in jQuery
The HTML
The jQuery
How to use JavaScript as a non-programmer
The Image Swap application
The Slide Show application
Three sources for tested JavaScript and jQuery
Appendix
Appendix A How to set up your computer for this book
How to install the source code for this book
How to install Visual Studio Code
How to install Chrome and other browsers
Sample chapter
Chapter 5: How to use the CSS box model
To give you an idea of how well this book works, you can download this chapter and try it out. It shows you how to use the CSS box model to control the spacing above, below, and on the sides of elements like headings, text, and images.
This chapter also shows you how to use CSS to add borders or backgrounds to elements. That includes the CSS features that let you round the corners of borders, add shadows to borders, and provide gradients as backgrounds.
Chapter 5 PDF (867 Kb) Download Now
Book applications and exercises
This download includes:
- The HTML and CSS code for all of the applications that are presented in the book
- The starting source code for the exercises in the book
- The solutions for the exercises in the book
Appendix A in the book shows how to install and use these files on Windows and macOS systems.
Zip file for any system (36Mb) Download Now
On this page, we’ll be posting answers to the questions that come up most often about this book. So if you have any questions that you haven’t found answered here at our site, please email us. Thanks!
To view the corrections for this book in PDF, just click on this link: View the corrections
Then, if you find any other errors, please email us so we can correct them in the next printing of the book. Thank you!