Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects. The animal on the cover of Web Services Essentials is a spiny lobster (also known as a rock lobster). There are about 45 species of spiny lobster worldwide, ranging in size from 2 to 26 pounds. Spiny lobsters have spine-studded shells and long antennae. However, unlike American lobsters, they have no large front claws. Spiny lobsters also have larger tails than American lobsters. They are colorfully marked with bright green, blue, and yellow spots on an orange or brown shell. Spiny lobsters inhabit shallow-watered, rocky environments in tropical and subtropical waters worldwide, as well as in cold waters of the southern hemisphere. Spiny lobsters usually remain concealed in rock crevices during the day and come out to feed at night. They eat a wide variety of foods, including shellfish, crabs, small fish, sea urchins, and sometimes algae and seaweed. They reach sexual maturity at 7 to 10 years and can live for over 30 years.

Although they are reclusive, spiny lobsters seem to be more social than American lobsters and often share their dens in coral reefs. One of the stranger sights reported by fishermen and divers is the so-called "March of the Spinys," which is a mass migration of hundreds or even thousands of spiny lobsters that often takes place in October or November, usually after a period of prolonged storminess. During this time, spiny lobsters swim in single-file columns, moving from shallow to deeper waters. Although the lobsters are nocturnal creatures, these marches sometimes occur in broad daylight. To date, there is no scientific explanation for this phenomenon. Claire Cloutier was the production editor and copyeditor for Web Services Essentials. Rachel Wheeler was the proofreader. Sarah Sherman and Jeffrey Holcomb provided quality control. Phil Dangler, Edie Shapiro, Sarah Sherman, and Derek Di Matteo provided composition assistance. Nancy Crumpton wrote the index.

Ellie Volckhausen designed the cover of this book, based on a series design by Edie Freedman. The cover image is a 19th-century engraving from the Dover Pictorial Archive. Emma Colby produced the cover layout with QuarkXPress 4.1, using Adobe's ITC Garamond font.

David Futato designed the interior layout. Mihaela Maier and Neil Walls converted the files from Microsoft Word to FrameMaker 5.5.6, using tools created by Mike Sierra. The text font is Linotype Birka; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is LucasFont's TheSans Mono Condensed. The illustrations that appear in the book were produced by Robert Romano and Jessamyn Read using Macromedia FreeHand 9 and Adobe Photoshop 6. The tip and warning icons were drawn by Christopher Bing. This colophon was written by Rachel Wheeler.