Clearly, if you dream (or aspire to dream) in HTML and JAVA etc., this is neither the reference nor even a starting point for you. But if you would like a comprehensiveÑand funÑintroduction to the essentials of visually appealing as well as user- and browser-friendly web pages, don't pass on this one! You will see web pages through the designer's eyes, i.e. from a purely asthetic standpoint (of course asthetic always translates into drawing and keeping an audience in media such as this), and then learn the best ways of tweaking your concepts for that perfect balance of good looks and download speed. There's a LOT about graphics optimization in the book, and most examples are demonstrated in several of the standard graphics editing programs. But that is not allÑI have not found a single question about working with the web unanswered here ... what is CSS? What are the differences between GIFs, JPEGs, and PNGs? What programs should I own and how do they compare? What is XML? DOM? Etc., etc. Wanna do web design? Get this book, I can't imagine you'd regret it.