Expression Web Books I Recommend

Morten Rand-Hendriksen is a Microsoft MVP for Expression Web and an expert at working with WordPress in conjunction with Expression Web. He is the owner and creative director of Pink & Yellow Media and the author of Design is Philosophy, his blog for Expression Web and WordPress where he has posted many tips and tutorials on both applications.

From the Back Cover

In just 24 sessions of one hour or less, you’ll learn how to build flexible, easy-to-maintain, standards-based websites with Microsoft Expression Web 4. Using this book’s straightforward, step-by-step approach, you’ll master the entire process, from concept through delivery. You’ll learn powerful ways to plan, design, construct, and even redesign websites that are simple to manage and easy to repurpose. Each lesson builds on what you’ve already learned, giving you a strong real-world foundation for success, no matter what kind of site you’re building!

• Step-by-step instructions carefully walk you through the most common Expression Web 4 tasks.
• Quizzes and Exercises at the end of each chapter help you test your knowledge.
• By the Way notes present interesting information related to the discussion.
• Did You Know? tips offer advice or show you easier ways to perform tasks.
• Watch Out! cautions alert you to possible problems and give you advice on how to avoid them

Learn how to…

• Build your first Expression Web 4 website in just five minutes
• Establish work processes for building standards-based sites faster, with far less work
• Write error-free code quickly and easily with Code view and IntelliSense
• Create hyperlinks that simplify navigation, perform actions, and send commands
• Understand, create, and modify CSS style sheets with unprecedented speed and accuracy
• Use Dynamic Web Templates to consistently format (or reformat) hundreds of pages
• Implement state-of-the-art interactivity with buttons, behaviors, and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
• Publish simple Silverlight applications and add multimedia content from Flash and other sources
• Build advanced drop-down and other CSS-based menus from scratch
• Learn how and when to use each of Expression Web’s six publishing options
• Integrate web application code written in ASP.NET or PHP

Morten is also the author of several other books on Expression Web which include:

• Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Expression Web 3 in 24 Hours
• Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Expression Web 2 in 24 Hours
• WordPress 3 Essential Training

A recent post on Morten's blog Why I Use Expression Web (And Why You Should Too) will let you know how enthusiastic about Expression Web he is.

Chris Leeds is a Web enthusiast who has been a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) for Microsoft Office FrontPage and then Expression Web for eight years. He is also the developer of a software product called ContentSeed (a Content Management System) with which users can create Web pages that can be edited and managed by using only a browser. 

Chris also offers a companion website for the book on which he has posted a series of FREE videos Expression Web 4 Step by Step Videos. I have only watched the first three chapters so far but my first impression is very positive. Some of the chapters are for more advanced users but are well worth watching.

I just received this book in the mail so will be offering a review of it shortly.

Experience learning made easy -- and quickly teach yourself how to create dynamic, standards-based Web sites. With Step by Step, you set the pace --  building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them!

• Build your site with customizable templates -- or create your own
• Adjust settings in Expression Web 4 to create different sites
• Add Photoshop files, Microsoft Silverlight® video, and .wmv files
• Use CSS, HTML, and XHTML to manage site style and accessibility
• Connect to servers using Microsoft ASP.NET and PHP
• Choose the right publishing method for your scenario

Your Step by Step digital content includes:

• All the books practice files -- ready to download and put to work.
• Fully searchable online edition of this book -- with unlimited access on the Web.
• Video tutorials illustrating important procedures and concepts

Chris is also the author of a number of other books on Expression Web including:

• Microsoft Expression Web 2 Step by Step
• Microsoft Expression Web Step by Step
• Microsoft Expression Blend 4 Step by Step 

Jim Cheshire is the man behind Jimco Software and Jimco Books and as his "real job" is a senior escalation engineer at Microsoft on the ASP.NET, IIS, and Expression Web teams.

Microsoft Expression Web 4 In Depth includes the only available complete reference for building Expression Web 4 add-ins using the new HTML and JavaScript extensibility model. These particular chapters are available online once you register your copy of the book. He'll teach you how to build your own add-in from beginning to end, and you don't have to be a programmer to do it. You'll also find a complete reference of the add-in manifest and the JavaScript programming reference. (The add-in chapters will also be available as a separate e-book entitled Creating Microsoft Expression Web 4 Add-ins hopefully sometime in February.)

I just received this book in the mail so will be offering a review of it shortly.

The ultimate guide to creating and managing websites using Microsoft Expression Web 4.  

• "In the trenches" guidance, big-picture insights, and exclusive troubleshooting help for building standards-compliant, cross-browser web sites
• Case studies draw on the author's extensive experience building Web solutions with Microsoft technologies
• Leverage ASP.NET's power without writing code - and use the free Visual Web Developer Express Edition to develop robust ASP.NET apps

Jim is also the author of a number of other books on Expression Web including:

• Microsoft Expression Web 3 In Depth My Review
• Special Edition Using Microsoft Expression Web 2
• Special Edition Using Microsoft Expression Web
• The Microsoft Expression Web Developer's Guide to ASP.NET 3.5

While not an actual book, I included this video training series because it can be used along with Morten's book, Sams Teach Yourself Expression Web 4 in 24 Hours. I purchased the set of video tutorials when they were first offered for preorder. Once they arrived I set aside the time to watch the entire series.

You can read my review on my blog: Review: Expression Web 4 LiveLessons by Morten Rand-Hendriksen

Cheryl  Wise is a Microsoft MVP for Expression Web and MY CSS guru. Her book, Foundations of Microsoft Expression Web: The Basics and Beyond, was the first book I bought on Expression Web and her class, Introduction to Expression Web, was the first class I took on using this application. That was way back when EW first came out as version 1. Since that time, I have been honored to work with her as her teaching assistant for her Expression Web class.

I reviewed Foundations of Microsoft Expression Web: The Basics and Beyond back in May 2007.

Cheryl recently started her own Expression Web Forum where all from the newest newbie to the most experienced user are welcome to come and ask questions, answer questions, or avail themselves of the other resources available. Her  by-expression blog  has many tips, reviews, and comments about all things pertaining to Expression Web.

Basic Website Tutorial is a very popular video training tool that walks you through creating a website from images & a Word doc through a completed page layout and the creation of DWT for additional pages. Best of all it is free. She also offers a series of FREE Dynamic Web Templates that you can use as a starting point for designing your site.

Cheryl is also a frequent contributor on the Microsoft Expression Web forum in answering questions on Expression Web and CSS.