Above the Fold
If I were to teach web design, Brian Miller’s Above the Fold: Understanding the Principles of Successful Web Site Design would be my choice for textbook. You won’t learn HTML5, CSS3 or jQuery in this book, but you’ll learn about whitespace, grid, typography and design elements for the web. Miller also provides great screenshots of web sites to illustrate his points. For instance, Apple’s homepage is a perfect example of showcasing products above the fold, which according to Jakob Nielson is where users spend 80% of their time looking for information.