• Web Design in a Nutshell — Anything computer-related you want to learn about, O'Reilly probably publishes a book on it, and it's probably a good book. Web Design in a Nutshell is no exception. This is one of two books I used when I was learning HTML, and I still refer to it from time to time — it sits on a shelf right next to my computer. Extremely well put together, informative, and handy. It summarizes the basics well enough to be a good overview for the beginner, and is an excellent quick reference for the experienced.

• The Complete Idiot's Guide to Creating a Web Page — The other book I used to learn HTML. An excellent book for beginners, covering all the basics in clear, light-hearted language.

• HTML 4 for the World Wide Web: Visual QuickStart Guide — This book is at the top of its class (its "class" being HTML tutorial books). Widely recommended.

• Cascading Style Sheets: The Definitive Guide — After you've mastered the basics of HTML, you'll want to move straight on to CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). This is the book I used for learning CSS, and it's the other book I keep handy for reference.

• Eric Meyer on CSS: Mastering the Language of Web Design — Another CSS book, which is very highly reviewed and often recommended as a partner to the aforementioned Definitive Guide (by the same author).

• Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability — The goal: to create a website that people can navigate and make sense of with ease.

• PHP and MySQL for Dummies — A nice beginner's book to get you started on PHP and MySQL for dynamic, database-driven applications.

• Beginning PHP4 — A more in-depth intro to PHP.

For online tutorials, Webmonkey has lots of how-tos and references, such as their HTML cheatsheet and their great FTP tutorial for beginners.