Web Design from Scratch

I thought this might go hand-in-hand with the previous entry on theme designs. There isn't exactly an abundance of how-to sites on general website design, and Web Design from Scratch makes some solid observations that may be non-obvious to the beginning site designer.

Created by Ben Hunt, founder of Scratchmedia, Web Design from Scratch is described as "a free practical guide to designing effective web communication".

The guide is broken down into a three sections: 'Basics' explores the web design process and how people use web pages; 'Tutorials' introduces principles that form a complete how-to guide to web design and is illustrated with real-world examples; and 'Case Studies' analyses the strengths and weaknesses of a real web page and presents an alternative design solution.

I personally found the site a bit cumbersome to navigate (and a printer-friendly version would have been welcome). Not readily apparent is that the content is gotten to from the sidebar, so don't let the summary pages throw you. Still, I found the information well worth the effort of negotiation.