Rating: 
Summary: Great book for a web designer
Review: I run my own web design company and found this book to be a great addition to my collection. I have already used the included client and technical surveys with my clients. This book is for those who want to or need to get a workflow / project plan for your designs. It definitely helped me professionalize my business.
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Summary: This is the bible of web development process.....
Review: If you are a web site developer and you don't buy this book - you're nuts.
If you are a client redesigning your web site and you don't buy this book - you're nuts too.
If you like to build houses without blueprints or drive across the country without a map, this is probably not the book for you.
If you like to build web sites that work with a high liklihood of being on-time and on-budget...read this book.
Rating: 
Summary: great for beginners, good review for the experienced
Review: since creating my first web site in 1994, i've waited to find one book that actually encapsulates a core process into one book. we've all used this same process, called it different things and even added our own steps and 'methods'. all in all there wasn't much new to get from it in my own opinion.
but for someone who has never been involved in the design and development of a web site, this book is a must have.
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Summary: Indispensable Resource for Web Developers
Review: The collective experience and wisdom contained in this book will save even the most seasoned web developer many hours of downstream pain.It is a very concise and well-organized resource that is the ideal companion also to any web development curriculum. Thank you both Kelly Goto and Emily Cotler for their quality work in compiling this most excellent textbook and guide. The online material that accompanies this book is of a similar high calibre.
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Summary: A great book, and a decent revision
Review: The first edition of this book has been something of a bible for my small design shop, though much of the numbers and timelines were a bit science-fiction. The second edition does remedy some of this, and adds a nice chapter, but isn't all that much different from the first, so I wouldn't bother purchasing it if you have the first one.
Also please note that much of the content mentioned in the book as being available for download on their website isn't there. Seems like they haven't really gotten around to finishing the job! But nevertheless, a good book, and two very talented and capable writers.
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Summary: Go with the Workflow
Review: The Web has become so pervasive that redesigns are now more common than new designs. In fact, nearly all Fortune 500 companies now have Web sites (those that don't shall remain nameless), so redesigns are now the norm. This book is the first to address the Web site redesign process. The book codifies the workflow work co-author Kelly Goto lectured extensively on at Thunder Lizard conferences since 1997. After one of her sold-out lectures on Web design workflow one of her loyal fans would invariably ask, "When are you going to write a book?" This book, and its accompanying Web site, is the answer. Anyone can design (or redesign) a Web site. But to do it on time and on budget requires a disciplined approach. This book logically lays out that process. The authors concentrate on the "Core Process" common to all Web site design and redesign projects. By following their methodology, you can raise your chance of success for your next design project. "The idea is to put everybody - the client and team alike - in the same frame of reference, using the same terminology, following the same path," says Emily Cotler, co-author of the book. "The Core Process that we developed can apply to any sized web team, with any sized budget, whether an initial design or a redesign." Primarily aimed at project managers, this book is designed to streamline the redesign process for everyone involved. Whether your budget is $10K or $1M, the Core Process still applies. What is the Core Process you ask? It's a five phase roadmap of the workflow required for redesigning a Web site. The phases are: * Defining the Project
* Developing Site Structure
* Visual Design & Testing
* Production & QA
* Launch & Beyond The book follows this outline, expanding on each topic with detailed action items for each phase (discovery, clarification, planning for phase 1). The wonderful thing about this book is the synergistic effect it has with its companion Web site, which offers free on-line worksheets you can use in your own redesign projects. Client questionnaires, meta tag builders, and budget spreadsheets are all included and discussed extensively in the book. You save money by not buying an out of date CD-ROM, and everyone wins by having access to these battle-tested workflow worksheets. Although only 253 wide pages, the book is packed with useful information. The authors liberally sprinkle the text with site redesign examples, illustrations, flowcharts, and checklists. Plus they feature full-page in context contributions from Web experts like Nielsen, Siegel, Veen, Lynda, and Zeldman (who all happen to be New Riders authors). The advice is good, though marred by some minor technical errors. Gather are much data as you can beforehand, get client signoff on key documents, perform a competitive analysis and usability testing. However, I found one common misconception, the latest Flash plug-in is not supported by 96% of current browsers, as stated on page 124. It's Flash 3 that has a 96% penetration rate. Flash 5 has less than 80% penetration worldwide, and less than 70% in the US, according to a survey by NPD research for Macromedia. To their credit the authors are collecting these types of errors and listing them on the accompanying Web site. I wish I had this book when I was working at a Web design firm in the '90s. It would have saved us all a lot of headaches.
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Summary: True to topic & valuable resource
Review: This book is a high-level, phased approach to web design. The context is the development team's workflow, and all of the key tasks, deliverables and roles that need to be choreographed to successfully develop, implement and maintain a web site. From a project management point of view this book serves as the basis for a work breakdown structure (WBS), and the project sequencing. I was able to quickly develop a generic project planning template that contained a relatively detailed WBS, project phasing, roles and responsibilities matrix and activity diagram. These tools were easy to extract from the book because of how well the authors have thought out the key elements of a web project and the development workflow. Among the things I most like are: (1) the care that was lavished on the layout and design of this book has resulted in more than mere aesthetics - as I read through it picking out the project elements I found myself inspired by the sheer beauty of the book, and actually felt more creative. Since I am more disposed towards technical aspects than art I was amazed by the influence the book's design had over me. It also made it easy to go through the book and find things. (2) completeness - while the authors do not go very deep in any one topic, they do cover all of the key points in a thorough manner. I found no gaps in coverage, and did not see the superficial treatment of the technical topics as a problem. In fact, this book is ideal for non-technical project managers who need to concern themselves with the project-oriented aspects of a web project. For the more technical members of a project team there is ample material covering every aspect of the technical approach. (3) sequencing - the phases of the project and associated workflow evidences the authors' extensive experience in web development projects. A lot of thought went into this and I couldn't help but think of the hard lessons learned on prior projects that resulted in such a refined workflow. (4) expert topics - the insets titled imparted a lot of useful information, making this book all the more valuable.For detailed project planning and deeper look at technical issues I will always recommend Web Project Management by Ashley Friedlein. However, after reading this wonderful book I am now recommending that this book be read before tackling Mr. Friedlein's book. I also recommend that this book be provided to all key members of the project team because it shows the big picture and gets everyone pulling in the same direction. In my opinion, this book is an essential read for anyone involved in web projects.
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Summary: Buy this for your boss, your clients and yourself
Review: This book is great for guiding people through the process of designing and launching a web site. I recommend it to designers, project managers and business people about to spend a lot of money on a web site.
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Summary: Web Redesign is very solid
Review: This book provided an easy methodology for developing a project from day one. Sure there are things that will suprise you along the way if you venture out to consult a company on redesign; this book is not a tell all. However, the information provided in this book helped me to draw up a timeline, develop prototypes, and prepare me for the lumps I received on my first consulting project. Any methodology requires practice, and practicing the methodology in this book is a good start to successful design. The book is humorous, flavorful, colorful and specific enough. The only thing I didn't like is how if fits in my bookshelf (squaty and wide).
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Summary: You thought you was a pro till you read this book!
Review: This book wow opened my eyes like never before! This is a must have for people that are either already in the business or getting started! Not really a how to book, but more of a rule book that you should follow for everyday web life. It's a must!
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