Time to stock up on your holiday reading! In this post, you will find the top eBooks on WordPress and Web design, both free and paid.

Disclaimer: Unless otherwise mentioned, I own a copy of the mentioned eBooks, which I have read, and enjoyed.

Best of Smashing Magazine

This free eBook was released to celebrate the 5th birthday of Smashing Magazine, an online magazine for developers and coders. It is a colection the very best of Smashing Magazine’s stories over those 5 years. You can grab your copy for free, no strings attached from their website.

Digging into WordPress

This WordPress guide is available in both print and eBook format, and deals with everything you need to know about your favorite CMS. Free lifetime updates ensure your knowledge is kept as up-to-date as WordPress itself. Digging into WordPress is available as both a PDF eBook and a print book (which includes a free eBook). Each purchase also includes a bundle of awesome themes that are talked about in the book.

The Book of CSS3

The Book of CSS3 if one of my personal favorites. It uses real-world examples to teach everything you need to know about the latest spec of CSS. Each chapter examines a different CSS3 module including web fonts, background images, 2D and 3D transformations, animations, box effects, and more.

The Book of CSS3 is accompanied by a host of examples and resources that are being constantly updated on the book’s companion website. You can buy the Book of CSS3 from No Starch Press.

Locking Down WordPress

It’s too easy to blame WordPress when you or your client’s site gets hacked and is advertising Viagra on every page. The reality is that you need to take control of the security of your WordPress installations. In this free eBook, you’ll learn how to secure your WordPress-powered website against hackers and spammers.

.htaccess made easy

 I have mentioned .htaccess made easy before, but as the top resource on all things to do with Apache’s configuration files, it deserves a mention again.

.htaccess made easy is a guide about Apache configuration files for web designers, site admins, and hobbyists. It is available in print an eBook format (or both), which includes help forum access, free lifetime updates, free starter templates for WordPress, password protection, boilerplate (starter) htaccess, site maintenance, and more. It also includes an exclusive WordPress-oriented chapter.

WordPress Meet Responsive Design

We’re moving into the days when it’s just not acceptable for sites not to adapt to the visitor’s screen size, be it a smartphone, tablet, or 20″ widescreen.

This is another great eBook published by the great folks at CodePoet. Top web developers Chris Coyier, Ian Stewart and Sara Cannon share their own real-world uses and strategies for designing WordPress responsively

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Have another WordPress or Web design-related eBook that you’d like to share? Leave a comment below, and I’ll add it to this list. Happy Holidays!