Wide World Of Web Design

PHP and MySQL for Dynamic Web Sites: Visual QuickPro Guide (2nd Edition)
If you plan on being a Freelance web designer at any point during your career, than eventually you’ll be required to provide at least some dynamic functionality to a client’s website, whether it’s a simple contact form or records stored in a database. Naturally, there are several ways to go about achieving this, but in keeping with the theme of this website which serves to seek out the most practical and cost effective methods first and foremost, the solution I recommend is to use PHP for dynamic server pages and MySQL for databases, both of which are open-source software applications.

If programming is just a little too dry for you and you’d prefer to stay strictly on the design side of things, there are programmers you can hire on a contract basis through services like Rent-a-Coder. You can even try applying a third-party application to resolve a client’s request, made easier by the fact that many of the more common dynamic tasks are readily available as downloadable programs, sometimes at no charge (my favorite source for these is Hotscripts.com under the PHP category). However, you’ll often be required to perform some level of customization to the pages so you can properly integrate the application or because of further enhancement requests by the client, and in either case it’s extremely helpful to at least have some editing skills.

That’s where this book, PHP and MySQL for Dynamic Web Sites, is a godsend! There are only a couple of books I wholeheartedly endorse and recommend on a regular basis, and this is one of them. The author Larry Ullman not only knows his stuff, but he’s figured out how to put his knowledge on display in a way that’s easy for readers to follow and comprehend, especially when they’re newbie web design wannabes who don’t have a whole lot of programming experience behind them.

Besides providing solid explanations and examples throughout the chapters to clarify the points he’s tasked with making, he has an excellent companion website giving you access to all the code downloads, updates, forums, and even a very informative newsletter that tends to keep you enthralled, unlike most newsletters I receive that get zapped after a cursory glance . . . testament to the author who’s just very good at what he does.