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Which is the best Web Editor / HTML Editor for you?

Different kinds of web editors

One of the most important resources which you will acquire if you are going to build a website is the Web Editor, sometimes called HTML editor, or Web Development Program

While you are building your site, you will spend more time with your web editor than with any other software, so you need to choose it carefully.

There are different kinds of web editors. Most of them are referred to as WYSIWYG, visual editors, or drag and drop editors. These web editors enable you to arrange objects on your web page in a more or less intuitive way. Every time you do something to an object on your web page, your web editor changes the visual display and also generates HTML code.

HTML editors

HTML is similar to a programming language. It tells your browser (e.g Microsoft Internet Explorer) how to display the content of the web page being viewed.

You can write web pages without a WYSIWYG editor, but it's much harder because you have to write the HTML code yourself. (Most HTML editors help you with the HTML syntax). You can't see exactly what the effect of your HTML code will be, until you view the web page in your browser.

Many experienced web page developers do work directly in HTML. In the early years of the web, everyone did it that way. There are several good, free HTML code editors. but, if you are about to undertake your first website, you will probably want a WYSIWYG editor.

Don't be confused by the term HTML editor. It may refer to both WYSIWYG web editors (including sophisticated high-end products) and non-WYSIWYG HTML code editors.

WYSIWYG Web Editors

WYSIWYG web editors generally allow you to edit the HTML code directly, so you can either work in WYSIWYG mode or HTML mode.

These web editors can also open a web page not originally created by that web editor, and allow you to work on it normally.

Web Editors often allow you to preview your web page in one (or sometimes more) browsers, without leaving the web editor. This is useful, because no matter how the web editor tries to simulate the web page with its WYSIWYG display, it doesn't look the same as in the browser. (Even different browsers may not show your web page identically.)

There is also a new class of WYSIWYG web editors, sometimes called visual editors, which do not allow you to change the HTML code which they generate (except to insert a script). These visual editors are not able to work with web pages unless they originally created them.

Finding the Best Web Editor for your needs

Researching web editors is quite difficult. What pleases one researcher may antagonise another. Reviewers are often highly experienced web developers. What works for them may not work for you.

Some of the reviews on the net were written several years ago, even in the last century! If there is no publication date, it may be hard to tell, especially if you are not familiar with the products. In web development terms, even 2 years is a long time.

What would you look for before buying a web editor (besides a full set of useful, easy-to-use features)?

Responsive attitude from the company supplying the product
Good support for problem solving
On ongoing development program (how often they release a new version)
Good, recent reviews of the product.

If the product you choose offers a free-trial facility, try before you buy. If a user forum for the product is accessible to the public, see what existing users are saying.

WYSIWYG web editors to consider. Prices as of June 2009:

There are many free web editors out there. I've tried several. Those which I found too difficult to use or lacking important features have been excluded from this list:

Kompozer (US $0) Freeware. This is my favourite free web editor. Its roots go back to the 1990's but the product is still being developed.
Net Objects Fusion Essentials (US $0) Freeware. This proprietary visual system is very powerful, but you might not be able to easily migrate to another editor. Wizards help with basic site creation. You can upgrade to the full product, see below.
PageBreeze (free web editor for personal, non-profit use only). Another very good choice to judge by user reviews. Also offers a paid version ("Professional") at low cost.
PageBreeze Professional (US $29) Licensed for commercial use. Offers additional features to the standard product. Free future upgrades. Good value.
Coffee Cup HTML Editor. (US $49) Licensed for commercial use. Since 1996. Free 30 day trial. Free future upgrades.
Namo Web Editor (US $99) Licensed for commercial use. Feature rich. Used by over two million web developers, and me! I have a love/hate relationship with this software. It's powerful, but quirky. I rate the support very poor, but most problems you can sort out by yourself, if you're very persistent! Pay for upgrades.
Net Objects Fusion 11 (US $199) Licensed for commercial use. This visual web editor is the full featured version of their WYSIWYG editor. Pay for upgrades
Microsoft Expressions Web 2 (US $299) Licensed for commercial use). A professional web editor. At a lower price than Dreamweaver CS4. Pay for upgrades.
Adobe Dreamweaver CS4. (US $399) Licensed for commercial use. Top of the range web editor used by many professional website developers. Pay for upgrades.

The best web editor?

There are many others if you want to do further research. But if you just want to create a fairly simple website (like this one, for example) all of the above products can easily handle that, and much more besides.

In general, I think the lower priced editors may be easier to learn than the more expensive ones. I like the idea of starting with a free product that offers an upward migration path. But top-of-the-range software has the advantage that you won't outgrow it in a hurry, if ever.

Allow yourself plenty of time for selection, familiarisation and play!

And when you're ready, let's move on to the next tutorial. We are going to consider your choice of domain name, and how to register it...

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Links / Resources

WYSIWYG: What you see is what you get

HTML: Hyper Text Markup Language

Free HTML code editors (not WYSIWYG):

Coffee Cup Free HTML Editor

Arachnophilia

Web Editor Reviews:

Web Editors - Customer reviews

Ten Best Web Editors

Best Free WYSIWYG HTML Page Editors

Free WYSIWYG Web Editors for Windows

WYSIWYG Web Editors:

Kompozer

Net Objects Fusion Essentials

PageBreeze Free HTML Editor

PageBreeze Professional

Coffee cup HTML Editor

Namo WebEditor

PC Mag: Web Editor 6 review

WebEditor product review

Net Objects Fusion 11

Microsoft Expressions Web 2

Adobe Dreamweaver CS4

An alternative approach:

SiteBuildIt

Preparation: Obtain Web Editor Top Prev Next: Register Domain Name

A good web editor is the most important tool in your box