XHTML

Within the XHTML section you'll find helpful annotated links to W3C Recommendations, articles, tutorials, tools, and more related to XHTML. You'll also find a listing of recommended books on XHTML.

Do you know of some good articles, tutorials, references, software, books, or resources related to XHTML? Recommendations are welcome and encouraged!

On this page:

W3C XHTML Recommendations, Information
XHTML Articles
XHTML Tutorials
Web Sites Devoted to XHTML
XHTML Tools - Reference Charts, Utilities, and Plugins
- XHTML Reference Charts
- XHTML Utilities, Plugins
Recommended Books on XHTML

W3C XHTML Recommendations, Information

HyperText Markup Language Home Page
Official W3C's main page for markup languages, including jumping off links to all the XHTML information and documentation at W3C.
XHTML 1.0: The Extensible HyperText Markup Language, A Reformulation of HTML 4 in XML 1.0
W3C official documentation for XHTML 1.0. Addresses many questions, detailed explanations. Included: 1. What is XHTML?, 2. Definitions, 3. Differences with HTML 4, 4. Compatibility Issues, 5. Future Directions, several Appendices.
XHTML 1.0 - Element Prohibitions
Direct link to W3's section on HTML elements that won't work in XHTML. This one is especially handy to bookmark!
XHTML 1.0 HTML - Compatibility Guidelines
W3's section on handling empty elements, paragraph tags, embedded style sheets, line breaks, ampersands, more. This is another handy one to bookmark.
XHTML 1.1 - Module-based XHTML
W3C official documentation for XHTML 1.1. Detailed specifications, including the difference with XHTML 1.0 markup, too.

top ‘On this page’ menu

XHTML Articles

Better Living Through XHTML
In his witty, upbeat, and engaging style, Jeffrey Zeldman packs in plenty of helpful tips and information all about converting your HTML to XHTML, why, what to watch out for, workarounds, terrific links to other quality resources, and more. [Tutorial dated 02/15/2002 by Jeffrey Zeldman for A List Apart.]
Rated XHTML
by Peter-Paul Koch for A List Apart. Good discussion explaining what XHTML is, reasons to use it or not use it, an overview of where things are going with HTML, XHTML, XML. Interesting reading. [Article dated 06/23/2000 by Peter-Paul Koch for A List Apart.]
A Child's Garden of XML
by Simon St.Laurent for A List Apart. Explains XHTML's role very well as a bridge between HTML and XML. [Tutorial dated 02/18/2000 by Simon St.Laurent for A List Apart.]
To Use or Not to Use: An XHTML Roadmap for Designers
by Molly Holzschlag, WebReview.com. Another excellent article by Molly that explains the powerfulness and ease of use of XHTML, the misunderstandings and misconceptions about XHTML, what XHTML really is, and its strength in stabilizing documents to make them more interoperable. [01/07/2001 by Molly Holzschlag for Digital Web Magazine.]
What I Learned this Summer: XHTML
by Chuck Musciano, WebReview.com. A series on learning XHTML step by step. Written in easy to understand manner. Covers very basics - creating well formed and valid code and highlights, such as quoted attributes, lower case tags, and related. [06/09/2000, by Chuck Musciano, WebReview.com (archived at DDJ).]
XHTML in the Real World
by Molly Holzschlag, WebReview.com. An excellent overview with examples of HTML, font tags, tables, CSS, the role of XHTML, and the shift of code for presentation rather than formatting. [06/08/2001 by Molly Holzschlag for WebReview.com (archived at DDJ).]

top ‘On this page’ menu

XHTML Tutorials

Fast and Easy XHTML
by Shirley Kaiser, for WebsiteTips.com. Wondering how to turn your HTML code into XHTML? Here are a few quick tips to teach you the very basics, a sample XHTML document, and resources for more information. [Tutorial dated 12/10/2001 by Shirley Kaiser for WebsiteTips.com]
XHTML 1.0: Marking up a new dawn: Getting familiar — and getting started — with the new standard
by Molly Holzschlag for IBM's developer Works Web Architecture Library. A detailed and thorough tutorial to guide us through learning to implement XHTML. (Also available for PDF download.) A must read tutorial for XHTML.[Tutorial by Molly Holzschlag for IBM's developer Works Web Architecture Library.]
XHTML: An Introduction
by Nick Wilson. Good introductory tutorial. Learn the basics about XHTML and adding to what you already know about HTML. [Tutorial dated 10/19/2001, by Nick Wilson for SitePoint.]
XHTML: Crossroads of HTML and XML
by Ahmad Abualsamid, TechWeb's Network Computing. Excellent introductory article about the main coding differences between HTML and XHTML. Provides examples of XHTML codes, what to watch out for, what's incorrect, cites examples. [Tutorial dated 11/13/2000, by Ahmad Abualsamid for TechWeb's Network Computing.]
XHTML Overview
Sven Heinicke, WebMonkey. Great tutorial for XHTML, covering: XHTML overview; compliance vs. design; tags in XHTML; attributes, arguments, and anchors; document types and character sets; defining languages; keeping it clean (validation and conversion tools). Big help, good information. [Tutorial dated 12/06/2000 by Sven Heinicke, WebMonkey.]
XHTML School
Learn the differences between XHTML and HTML, how to use XHTML, references, books, more. Helpful series. [Tutorial series by W3Schools.com]
XHTML: The Clean Code
Peter Wiggin explains the differences between HTML and XHTML with examples. Well done, easy to understand. [04/28/2000, by Peter Wiggin for O'Reilly Network.]

top ‘On this page’ menu

Web Sites Devoted To XHTML

XHTML.org
Annotated links to W3C XHTML information and more XHTML resources.

top ‘On this page’ menu

XHTML Tools - Reference Charts, Utilities, and Plugins

See also the HTML Web Authoring/HTML Tools section for more tools that include XHTML, including HTML editors, reference charts, validators, and more, so be sure to check there, too.

XHTML Reference Charts

HTML 4.01 / XHTML 1.0 Reference
By W3Schools.com. Chart of all tags and Internet Explorer and Netscape support (or lack of support.) [Chart by w3schools.com]

XHTML Utilities, Plugins

XHTML Clip Library for Notetab Pro
XHTML tool for Notetab Pro. Includes all XHTML elements and more to assist with XHTML editing.

top ‘On this page’ menu

Recommended Books on XHTML

Do you have any recommendations, favorite books on XHTML, or do you have thoughts about books already included on this list? Please let us know!

For more XHTML books, including short reviews, see also Books on CSS, HTML, XHTML, Web Standards, Web Authoring Tools/HTML Editors, DHTML, DOM, JavaScript, Ajax, PHP, Web Site Optimization, XML in our Recommended Books section.

Build Your Own Web Site the Right Way Using HTML & CSS
by Ian Lloyd. Published by SitePoint, May 2, 2006. This book is receiving rave reviews! Ian's fabulous new book teaches Web development from scratch, without assuming any previous knowledge of HTML, CSS or Web development techniques. It introduces you to HTML and CSS as you follow along with the author, step-by-step, to build a fully functional web site from the ground up. However, unlike countless other “learn Web design” books, this one concentrates on modern, best-practice techniques from the very beginning, which means you'll get it right the first time. By the end of the book, you'll be equipped with enough knowledge to set out on your first projects as a professional web developer, or you can simply use the knowledge you've gained to create attractive, functional, usable and accessible sites for personal use. For more information, see also the author's companion site for Build Your Own Web Site the Right Way Using HTML & CSS.
Bulletproof Web Design: Improving flexibility and Protecting Against Worst-case Scenarios with XHTML and CSS, Second Edition
By Dan Cederholm. Published by New Riders Press (August 1, 2007). Dan Cederholm, well-known and highly regarded Web site designer, created quite a positive stir with his previous books, also recommended by WebsiteTips.com. The author's Bulletproof Web Design book information provides helpful details, including the Table of Contents, reviews about the book, example code, a sample chapter, and more. The publisher states about Bulletproof Web Design, Second Edition:
No matter how visually appealing or content-packed a Web site may be, if it's not adaptable to a variety of situations and reaching the widest possible audience, it isn't really succeeding. In Bulletproof Web Design, author and Web designer extraordinaire, Dan Cederholm outlines standards-based strategies for building designs that provide flexibility, readability, and user control—key components of every sucessful site. Each chapter starts out with an example of an unbulletproof site one that employs a traditional HTML-based approach which Dan then deconstructs, pointing out its limitations. He then gives the site a make-over using XHTML and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), so you can see how to replace bloated code with lean markup and CSS for fast-loading sites that are accessible to all users. Finally, he covers several popular fluid and elastic-width layout techniques and pieces together all of the page components discussed in prior chapters into a single-page template.
Deliver First Class Web Sites: 101 Essential Checklists
By Shirley Kaiser. Published by SitePoint Books, July 2006. The author packs the entire book with helpful checklists and explanations, examples, and references to help with creating and maintaining a user-friendly site that also includes standards-compliant, accessible, and lean markup and code behind the scenes, including HTML, XHTML, CSS, and more. For example, Chapter 9: Best Coding Practice: W3C Standards and Recommendations includes Magic Markup: Separating Content from Presentation, Ensuring the Integrity of your Markup, Excellent XHTML, and Spectacular CSS: Using Appropriate CSS Naming Conventions, Beware of Browser Bugs and Problems, Using CSS for Print. Chapter 11: Web Site Optimization includes checklists on Creating Clean, Lean Markup, optimizing URLs, and more. Chapter 12: Search Engine Optimization includes checklists on how to optimize your HTML to be search-engine friendly. Chapter 14: Testing includes checklists to help ensure that your HTML is error-free, problem-free. You'll also find checklists to make sure your site is visually appealing, loads quickly, is search engine friendly, and more. Along the way, other chapters cover creating accessible Web sites, Web site optimization, preparing and managing Web site content, usability, color, information architecture, navigation, search engine optimization, design, testing, preparing for launch, post-launch follow-up, and much more. In addition, all those who purchase the book have special access to downloadable, printable checklists to use for all your projects. More information: Companion Site for Deliver First Class Web Sites: 101 Essential Checklists, author's Web site: SKDesigns.
Designing with Web Standards, 2nd Edition
By Jeffrey Zeldman. Published by New Riders, July, 2006. Now in a new, updated, and revised 2nd edition. Best-selling book on designing and developing a practical, solid Web site based on Web standards. Well written, real world solutions, and covers a lot of ground, including HTML, XHTML, CSS, DOM, browser quirks, case studies, and much more. The 2nd edition screenshots and other graphics are also now in full color. Even if you already have the 1st edition, there are significant updates and new content in the 2nd edition to make it well worth purchasing. Highly recommended. Both editions are on WebsiteTips.com's short list of all-time favorite books. Author's websites: Happy Cog, Zeldman.com: The Daily Report, and the author's Designing with Web Standards book information.
HTML Dog: The Best-Practice Guide to XHTML and CSS
By Patrick Griffiths. Published by New Riders Press, November, 2006. The author of this book is also the writer and owner behind the highly regarded, popular HTML Dog Web site, a Web site packed with helpful, easy-to-understand tutorials, including HTML and CSS. His book is destined to be fabulous. The description from the publisher for this book:
For readers who want to design Web pages that load quickly, are easy to update, accessible to all, work on all browsers and can be quickly adapted to different media, this comprehensive guide represents the best way to go about it. By focusing on the ways the two languages—XHTML and CSS—complement each other, Web design pro Patrick Griffiths provides the fastest, most efficient way of accomplishing specific Web design tasks. With Web standards best practices at its heart, it outlines how to do things the right way from the outset, resulting in highly optimized web pages, in a quicker, easier, less painful way than users could hope for! Split into 10 easy-to-follow chapters such as Text, Images, Layout, Lists, and Forms, and coupled with handy quick-reference XHTML tag and CSS property appendixes, HTML Dog is the perfect guide and companion for anyone wanting to master these languages. Readers can also see the lessons in action with more than 70 online examples constructed especially for the book.
Author's Web sites: HTMLDog, Vivabit.
HTML, XHTML, and CSS, Sixth Edition: Visual QuickStart Guide
By Elizabeth Castro. Published by Peachpit Press, August 2006. This book series by Elizabeth Castro is the best-selling book on HTML and for good reason. She explains everything in easy-to-understand language, covers all the important bases of HTML, XHTML, and CSS, provides tips and warnings, and helpful illustrations and examples throughout the book. While the W3C Recommendations haven't changed since the 5th edition, how people use the specs has changed quite a bit. Fantastic. Highly recommended. Author's website with more about all her books: Cookwood Press, Liz's HTML Blog. As the author states,
I have revamped the examples throughout the book to reflect new and updated browsers, the growing emphasis on standards, CSS layout, and also the push toward multimedia and syndication. There are brand new chapters on using CSS for Handhelds and on Syndication and Podcasting as well as added individual sections throughout the book. And it's all in color!
From: Sixth Edition of HTML, XHTML, and CSS Visual QuickStart Guide! - blog post 08 July, 2006, Liz Castro
Spring Into HTML and CSS (Spring Into)
By Molly Holzschlag. Published by Addison Wesley Professional, April 2005. The “Spring Into” series takes a no-nonsense, just-the-facts-please approach to help you quickly and easily get what you need. This book covers a LOT of ground. Molly Holzschlag is a well-seasoned professional author with over 30 books published. Her clear and easy-to-understand writing style makes it easy to understand why she is such a successful author and why her books sell so well. How do you decide which book is for you? You can explore a sample chapter online: How to Add Images, Media, and Scripts to Your Web Site. The author's Web site: Molly.com.