Web Design that Works takes a good long look at over twenty Web sites to see what makes them tick. Divided by categories such as e-commerce, content, promotional and portals, the book provides a useful overview of the design of successful Web sites. It's ironic—and emblematic of the short half-life of Web sites—that Webvan, one of the companies Baggerman profiles, has already disappeared into bankruptcy court.

Still, it was a great site while it lasted, and it is instructive to pore over the screengrabs that are reprinted here, to see just what they did right. Each of the sites that Baggerman examines—ranging from redenvelope.com to nerve.com and splatterpunk.com to askjeeves.com—is accompanied by a brief introduction, a paragraph on "What Works" and a summary of the site's functionality called "Work Wisdom." Plenty of generously-sized, full-color screengrabs illustrate the inner workings of the site.

Web Design that Works is surprisingly, and refreshingly, free of code. Baggerman isn't interested in technical solutions. Instead she concentrates on how each site fulfills its strategic objects. The result is an inspirational book for designers, producers, project managers and their clients.

—Sam McMillan