There are thousands of books available for web designers and developers online. There has been no language, no point of discussion, or no trend that has not, at one time or another, been extensively explored and analyzed, and eventually published as an eBook. The great news is quite a lot of these books are available for free! And today I’ve collected my favorites for you!
CSS & HTML Essential Learning
Rather than being a guide to solid web design, Resilient Web Design has been written to highlight some of the approaches and techniques to web design that have proven to be resilient over the years.
Adaptive Web Design delves into the origins of progressive enhancement, its philosophy, and mechanisms, and reveals the countless practical ways that you can apply progressive enhancement principles using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Written by Adam Schwartz, the Magic of CSS is an ebook that will introduce you to some of the trickiest aspects of CSS. It includes chapters on the box model, layout, tables, color, typography, and transitions, and does include interactive examples.
A Guide to HTML5 and CSS3 covers the basics of web development and it’s a great starting point whether your plan is to make websites, HTML5 mobile apps or games. Please note that you will need to signup to download this ebook.
HTML Canvas Deep Dive is a hands-on introduction to Canvas from Josh Marinacci. The book has been organized into 2 sections: First, there are the reading portions where it describes how an API works (with interactive examples), and then there are the hands-on lessons that will walk you through the process of building your own canvas apps.
The second edition of HTML5 Canvas gets you going with HTML5 Canvas, teaching you how to draw, render text, manipulate images, and create animation — all in the course of building several interactive web games throughout the book. The free online version includes 53 interactive examples and exercises.
The Pocket Guide to Writing SVG offers a detailed introduction to building SVG online. It has been written for designers and developers that are looking to quickly add SVG to their workflow.
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Learn JavaScript
Eloquent JavaScript introduces you to the JavaScript language. It also covers general programming concepts such as object-oriented programming. In the last leg of this book, you’ll get to learn about Node.js, which is an application for running JavaScript in environments beyond the browser.
Speaking JavaScript By Dr. Axel Rauschmayer (HTML, PDF & ePub)
The Speaking JavaScript ebook teaches beginners just enough JS to help them be productive straightaway, and for seasoned JavaScript programmers there’s a detailed reference guide that covers each JS feature indepth.
Written by Addy Osmani, Learning JavaScript Design Patterns will show you how to write beautiful, structured, and maintainable JavaScript by applying classical and modern design patterns to the language. If you want to keep your code efficient, more manageable, and up-to-date with the latest best practices, this book is for you.
The JavaScript Tutorial by Ilya Kantor
This online book will walk you through the basics of the JavaScript language. As the book progresses, you’ll be introduced to more advanced subjects such as object-oriented programming and regular expressions.
In this early release edition of Programming JavaScript Applications, you will have the chance to take your existing JavaScript skills to the next level and learn how to build complete web scale or enterprise applications that are easy to extend and maintain.
You Don’t Know JS is a series of books diving deep into the core mechanisms of the JavaScript language. The first edition of the series is now complete.
The premise of Human JavaScript is that within the realm of JavaScript, there’s a subset of features, tools, approaches and patterns that are optimized for people. This book is for developers who are interested in learning about JavaScript in the perspective of building web apps.
JavaScript Enlightenment is not about JavaScript design patterns or implementing an object-oriented paradigm with JavaScript code. The intention of this book is to give the reader an accurate JavaScript worldview through an examination of native JavaScript objects and supporting nuances: complex values, primitive values, scope, inheritance, the head object, etc.
Building Front-End Web Apps with Plain JavaScript by Gerd Wagner
This book is aimed at JavaScript developers and experienced programmers who would like to learn JavaScript hands-on, in the context of creating a fully-functional web application.
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Learn PHP
PHP: The Right Way is an easy-to-read, quick reference for PHP best practices, accepted coding standards, and links to authoritative tutorials around the Web.
Learn WordPress
Locking Down WordPress By Rachel Baker, Brad Williams & John Ford
In Locking Down WordPress, WordPress pros Rachel Baker, Brad Williams, and John Ford take you through everything you need to know to make sure you have WordPress security is under control.
WordPress Meet Responsive Design By Chris Coyier, Ian Stewart & Sara Cannon
In WordPress Meet Responsive Design, Chris Coyier, Ian Stewart and Sara Cannon give you the lowdown on their real world uses and strategies for designing WordPress responsively.
This ebook covers strategies and tips to start packaging and offering WordPress maintenance services to your clients.
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Learn Git
Pro Git 2nd Edition By Scott Chacon and Ben Straub (HTML, PDF, ePub & Mobi)
The Pro Git eBook, know in its second edition, covers basics of Git as well as advanced topics such as branching and running distributed Git.
As the name suggests, Git From the Bottom Up teaches you Git from basic to advanced levels. It is available as a PDF file, so you can easily download it and use it as per your convenience.
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UX — User Experience Learning
The UX Reader ebook is a collection of the most popular articles from MailChimp’s UX Newsletter and also includes some exclusive content.
The Guide to Usability Testing includes 109 pages of practical explanations and tips for 20 usability testing methods, some useful advice from usability experts like Jakob Nielsen, Jeff Sauro, Dr. David Travis, and others, and also shares some best practices from companies like Apple, MailChimp, Yahoo, DirecTV, Buffer, and more.
The free ebook Web UI Best Practices talks aboutsome og the techniques spanning visual design, interface design, and UX design.
The Guide to UX Design Process & Documentation ebook looks at real-life examples of design processes from companies such as Apple, Amazon, Twitter, and more. Expert advice is provided by Cennydd Bowles, Louis Rosenfeld, Ash Maurya, and others on the 7 stages of product design.
The Guide to Mockups by UXPin includes 72 pages of visual examples, explorations of fidelity, and best practices. You’ll also learn the differences between mockups, prototypes, and wireframes so you get a more practical understanding of where each fits into the design process.
Written by Marcin Treder, UX Design for Start-Ups is a must read for any startup or grown-up company that wishes to keep its startup spirit and conquer the world with stunning UX Design.
With over 100 pages, The Guide to Wireframing covers what makes a great wireframing workshop. It’s wireframing from the big idea to details: digital and analog tools, web and mobile design patterns sources, all concluded with design principles for people who build products.