I often get asked similar questions about my class. Following are some questions & answers.

I have no experience with website design. What should I do to prepare myself for the class?

You could look over past syllabi & look at some of the suggested readings. Don't freak if you don't 'get 'em' right away - this is a bit overwhelming at first, but I walk folks gently through everything.

Also, check out this page on my web site:
http://www.granneman.com/usefullinks/development/coding/html.htm

Many, many students have found this site to be very helpful:
http://www.w3schools.com/html/

I don't agree with everything that W3Schools teaches you, but we'll sort that out in class. :)

Are any books required?

No, you don't need to purchase any books. I don't require any books in class at all - everything you need is on the Web.

If you do want to check out a book, I highly recommend Jeffrey Zeldman's Designing with Web Standards. It's a darn good book.

Should I take this course pass/fail?

Unless you do absolutely nothing, never try, & never learn anything, you'll be fine grade-wise. Try your best, and you'll get a good grade. My goal is make sure that people learn, not to hold grades over their heads.

Do you have a syllabus I can see?

My syllabus is on my web site. The course is in 2 semesters: in the Fall, we learn HTML and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), and in the Spring, we cover CSS the entire time. You can only take the first semester if you'd like, but most students end up taking the Spring course as well.

Old syllabi:
http://www.granneman.com/teaching/washingtonuniversity/webdesign/archives/index.htm