Because the web is so big,there are folks writing 20 books a day about user interaction, interaction design, information architecture and the many other categories involved.
There are countless books on programming,design and web standards.
Then there are the articles and pages written for blogs and websites and blogging websites.
You could read all day for months and you may come out learning quite a lot but you won’t ever be able to learn it all.
I have tried to keep informed and am determined to do so,because I found out late in life(ok,I’m only 36 but that’s sort of late for picking a career)what I wanted to do for actual work.Which is to design web sites.
I say “actual work” because I always knew what I wanted to do:paint and draw. But I didn’t find a way to turn that into an income. A reliable income. In fact, it seems to be the main fate of most people in the Arts to have a thing they love to do but have a job that sucks their soul and pretty much destroys their energy for doing what they love.And they become evil, bitter and used.
It’s sad but it’s life and it’s face it or become evil,bitter and used.
I didn’t want to learn how to draw about 25% as well as I could by hand on some sort of software.So I didn’t go the route of a computer artist.(I simplify but you get the idea)
I didn’t have a computer until 2002.
I didn’t begin to learn anything about design until 2003.
I didn’t make my own web page until 2004.
I didn’t have my own website until 2005.
But once I got into it I was unstoppable.
So now I’m in the process of getting hired to do web design.
I found out pretty early on that this meant I had to know a lot more than the basics.
I had to be good.And I had to know how to improve and not get stuck on one method because it worked once about 6 months ago.
I’m always trying to improve and absorb good design practices combined with user interaction and common sense.