San Francisco, CA, April 16, 2013—The boom in Web-enabled devices has been a huge boon for consumers, who have quickly grown accustomed to instant online access wherever they are, whatever they're on. But it can pose a huge challenge for today's front-end developers, now tasked with designing and updating sites capable of universal performance in the "Internet-everywhere era," according to industry veteran Peter Gasston. In his latest book, The Modern Web (No Starch Press, April 2013, 264 pp., $34.95, ISBN 9781593274870), Gasston maps out a masterful blueprint for building platforms that will work flawlessly on any device.

Fluent in the ever-evolving language of the Internet, Gasston guides developers and programmers of every skill level through the latest web-platform complexities, with his signature wit and engaging tone. "[He] strikes a great balance between producing fantastic real-world code and staying right on top of the latest developments in web technology," says Chris Mills, author of Practical CSS3 (Peachpit Press, 2012), noting that Gasston "has a considerable gift for explaining difficult technical topics in a lucid and entertaining manner."

In addition to expertly detailing the latest and most important tools of device-agnostic web development, The Modern Web provides fundamental instructions for harnessing the powers of HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript. Peppered with plain-English explanations and practical examples, the book handily lays out the best techniques, principles, and practices for turning outdated websites into flexible, user-friendly landing pages that take full advantage of the unique capabilities of any device or browser.

The Modern Web teaches readers how to:

• Plan and code content to display fluidly across multiple devices
• Design websites that interact with devices using the most up-to-date APIs, including Geolocation, Orientation, and WebStorage
• Incorporate cross-platform audio and video without troublesome plug-ins
• Make images and graphics scalable on high-resolution devices with SVG
• Use powerful new HTML5 elements to design friendlier forms

"There's never been a more exciting time to work in web development, but it's also a little daunting," Gasston says. He advises developers to think of what they build in the greater scheme of things in order to keep pace with cutting-edge tech markets. "My aim in writing this book was to capture the moment we're currently in, using the latest front-end web-platform technologies to build websites that work everywhere—not just now, but in the future. We've seen such a major transformation of Internet-enablement in the past five years, but who can say where it will be another five years from now?"