1. Designing with Web Standards (3rd Edition) by Jeffrey Zeldman

Zeldman’s Designing with Web Standards isn’t so much an instruction book on web design as it is a clear and concise explanation of idea behind web standards. When I read this book, I hadn’t touch any web-based code since the days of tables and font tags. Zeldman laid it all out in this book, explaining how the web went from the clunky combined structure and styling of early HTML to the sleek and sensible separation of structure and style with XHTML and CSS.

In addition to the great history lesson about the web as well as a great introduction to the new web standards, Zeldman also goes over the basics of combining XHTML and CSS to design a website. If you’re wondering what all the hubub is about Web Standards, this is the book for you, and a great book all around for someone trying to break into the field of Web Design.

2. CSS Mastery by Andy Budd

For a web designer you can never be too well-read on CSS. Once you understand the basics, there are still tons of useful advanced techniques to learn. Browser inconsistencies are always a problem, and there are a slew of workarounds and best-practices to solve them.

In CSS Mastery, Andy Budd starts by explaining the box model, something that will come in handy for the rest of your web design career. Understanding the box model will help you grasp the way that layout elements behave (and how they misbehave in Internet Explorer!). Andy covers all the bases including menus, text, layouts, rollovers, and everything else.

CSS Mastery goes into moderate depth on a wide variety of topics. Books on more specific CSS subjects will co into more detail than CSS Mastery, but the well-rounded range of crucial subjects is much better for beginners. Any topics that you still have problems with after reading this book can lead you to other, more specialized CSS books. For someone trying to dive into the world of CSS, this is my #1 pick.

3. PHP Solutions: Dynamic Web Design Made Easy by David Powers

David Powers knows exactly what to include in a book for beginners. In addition to going over the basic syntax and structure of the language, David includes everything you need to know to install PHP and set up your own testing environment to try out all of the book’s wonderful examples. The examples in the book are both well-explained and useful. From examples as simple as includes to more involved projects such as a database-driven photo gallery, Powers rarely loses his audience, no matter how new they may be to the language!

If you’re interested in web development, this is a must, since PHP is such a widely used language, and the driving force behind many popular CMS’s including WordPress (the CMS used for this webpage among countless others). I highly suggest using php.net’s documentation as reference for any classes or functions you don’t fully understand.

4. Bulletproof Web Design by Dan Cedarholm

This might be a better follow-up to CSS Mastery by Andy Budd, but it teaches many CSS best-practices in a very sensible way. Dan introduces a commonly used CSS technique, then explains why it’s not the best solution. Next a better solution is introduced, and Dan explains exactly why it’s an improvement. It’s simple, but effective, and it makes sense to seasoned CSS gurus and beginners alike.

Bulletproof Web Design bridges the gap between simply understanding CSS, and understanding the best way to use it to create a great site for every browser (and browser setting). Dan’s website www.simplebits.com is also a great resource, and he has a few other books worth checking out as well!

5. Actionscript 3.0 for Flash and Flex by Sean McSharry, Steve Webster, and Todd Yard

Ok so I guess some would say that Actionscript 3.0 doesn’t fit into the web development genre, but I’m sure there are plenty of you out there interested in flash, and flash is still a huge part of the web today. Don’t get me wrong, flash has its time and place, but there are some web apps that are best suited for Actionscript 3.0! Also keep in mind that there are versions for Flash CS3 and CS4, so it’s up to you which version to get depending on which version of flash you have.

That said, I think this book is about the closest I’ve found to a good all-around introduction. Like some of the other books on this list, it is good for beginners because it is well-rounded. After explaining the basics of the language, it goes on to show you numerous techniques and practical projects in many different areas of interest. I suggest this book as a way to get acquainted with the language, while further books will help you gain a greater understanding of the more specific functions that suite your needs. Actionscript 3.0 is a language capable of doing so many things, so it’s nice to have a book like this to introduce you to some of the most used functions of the language.

I find a lot of Actionscript 3.0 books lacking in their explanations for beginners, and this book has moments of confusion, but to me it is the closest I’ve found to a book for beginners that explains everything in an easily understandable way. That said, make sure you always keep your Actionscript 3.0 Language and Components Reference open in case you come across something you don’t understand.