INTRODUCTION

NO DOUBT ABOUT IT, HTML5 is hot. Although the fires were initially stoked by Apple's expressed preference for the nascent web language over embedded plug-ins, the power of HTML5 is transcending that discussion. HTML5 brings much-needed capabilities to web designers—capabilities that could significantly reshape the look-and-feel of the Web.

As a long-time web designer, I'm very excited about the possibilities of HTML5. And, as a teacher of web technologies, I feel it's important that new designers get off on the right foot so they can build web standard–compliant sites that work across multiple browsers today and well into the future.