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 HTML Editors
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Background: A HTML editor is a program that helps you create
web pages. And while you can build web pages in a text editor if you want
to ( in much the same way you can learn to program in binary if you really,
really want to), good HTML editors make the task easier by offering
extra convenience and added functionality.
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There are two broad types of HTML editors:
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Text Editors - web page text editors require you to have some
understanding of HTML and any other related web technologies you might like
to use (eg: CSS, JavaScript etc). HTML text editors will usually provide
syntax highlighting, templates, toolbars and keyboard shortcuts to quickly
insert common HTML elements and structures. Some will also provide wizards,
tooltip prompts and auto-completion to help with common tasks. In the end,
though, text editors are really tools for HTML/web experts. So if you're
just starting out you're probably better off using...
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WYSIWYG Editors - What-you-see-is-what-you-get web editors provide
an editing interface which resembles how a page will be displayed in a web
browser. Because using a WYSIWYG editor doesn't require any
HTML knowledge, they're easier for an average computer user to get
started with. The downside of this is that some WYSIWYG editors can create
bloated and excessive HTML (some of the earliest ones were so inefficient
they often built pages that literally drew like snails down the screen -
a problem more contemporary editors now seem to have overcome). However,
advanced WYSIWYG editors will usually also allow direct HTML editing
so that users with HTML knowledge can tweak or fine-tune their design if
they wish.
In our experience there are usually close to 300 HTML editors on the
market at any given time, and the commercial ones range in price from US$39.99
to US$59.99 (for quite a few very good ones!) up to US$399 for Adobe's
DreamWeaver (which is about the top of the HTML Editor price range). But
since nearly all of the commercial web editors offer free trial
downloads, you shouldn't be afraid to try them out if you think you might
wind up buying one.
But if you'd like a free HTML editor that's a little bit more advanced
than Windows Notepad, the good news is that there are also slightly more
than 80 of them available at any time too, ranging from very basic
web editors up to surprisingly advanced ones.
Here's our quick guide to the cream of the crop:
Popular Free HTML Editors
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CoffeeCup Free HTML Editor
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CoffeeCup Software's CoffeeCup Free HTML Editor is a cut-down version
of the company's US$49 commercial web editor and it's a solid choice for
any web design beginner. Though the program lacks the variety of features
found in the commercial version, it can create neat and functional personal
web pages quickly and easily. The program comes complete with
a set of Quickstart layout templates to speed up development and its
WYSIWYG editor is well-designed and easy to use, with drag-and-drop
functionality. The editor also allows access to a page's code if you're eager
to learn HTML and/or tweak the WYSIWYG editor's output. In addition, the
program has built-in FTP for uploading, and handy wizards for
tables, frames, forms, images and links. It also supports all HTML 4.0 and
XHTML tags, and runs on Windows XP and Vista.
Get CoffeeCup Free HTML Editor.
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Kompozer
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Kompozer is an open source web development tool built on NVU
(pronounced "N-View") which was a very popular free HTML editor that's
now been discontinued. The Kompozer project is working on fixing NVU's bugs
and adding new features to it - so if you ever used NVU in the past you'll
feel right at home! While it's still in beta, Kompozer has so far fixed all
the bugs in the HTML editor and the CSS editor, and when we tested it we
were very pleased with its performance. Kompozer avoids the "bloat" of some
other HTML editors and its WYSIWYG interface allows most people to get productive
fast without needing to know a great deal about HTML (though you can directly
edit HTML too). Kompozer's main feature set is exactly the same as NVU's
too. The interface is still a trifle less polished than some other editors,
but that's likely to change in future as well. It also includes in-built
FTP and versions are available for Windows (2000 and XP), Mac OSX
and Linux. Kompozer is rapidly gaining market share - deservedly,
we think - and well worth investigating if you're looking for a great HTML
editor with a big future.
Get Kompozer.
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PageBreeze Free HTML Editor
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FormBreeze's PageBreeze Free HTML Editor is a powerful HTML editor
which has both WYSIWYG and HTML modes. PageBreeze's design emphasizes
simplicity and ease-of-use, and most people will find that
they can create great-looking Web sites almost instantly with virtually no
learning curve. PageBreeze's visual editor is powered by Microsoft Internet
Explorer, so you can be fairly certain that you're seeing exactly what
you'll get when your Web site is uploaded to your server (though we'd advise
double-checking in Firefox just to be 100% sure the rest of the world
will see the same thing). PageBreeze also includes a drag-and-drop form
builder which makes it easy to build powerful online forms and get them
working almost instantly, without the need for programming or scripts. You
can also switch between HTML and visual modes at any time with a click of
the mouse. Pagebreeze works on Windows (from Win95 to Vista) and is
highly regarded by many people. We think it's pretty neat too.
Get PageBreeze Free HTML Editor.
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MoreMotion Web Express
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Mor Yazilim's MoreMotion Web Express is a totally WYSIWYG web editor
that lets you develop web sites without needing to know HTML at all. However,
MoreMotion also allows advanced users to enter HTML code and ASP, JSP or
PHP tags to build professional, dynamic applications. The key features are
a truly WYSIWYG design editor; powerful design tools (eg: align, size, dock,
anchors, and usage restrictions); extensibility and reusability through library
elements, page templates and advanced theme support; DHTML events; an integrated
JavaScript editor; an integrated image-map editor; a web-safe color palette;
graphic text (especially useful for creating buttons!); broken-link checking;
and an integrated FTP client for uploading the finished result to your web
server. MoreMotion runs on Windows (from Win98 to XP). It's also
completely free.
Get MoreMotion Web Express.
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NetObjects Fusion Essentials
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Website Pro's NetObjects Fusion Essentials is a cut-down version of
the company's commercial (and long-established) US$200 NetObjects Fusion
web editor and was only unveiled in late 2007. It offers many of the core
features found in Fusion 10 including drag and drop design, full website
management, built-in FTP, form builders, photo galleries and an e-commerce
tool. It also has a navigation menu builder, an online form builder, and
can create rollover images, scrolling ticker-tapes, and time-based rotating
pictures. You can also insert custom HTML, scripts, Flash, Quicktime videos
and other web components into your pages. And you can enhance the
basic free version for US$14.95 and/or upgrade to the commercial version
later at a reduced price if you wish (at almost 50% off). In order
to use the software you need to obtain a serial code. To do this, install
the software and follow the instructions in the installer. The software runs
on all versions of Windows (from Win95 to Vista).
Get NetObjects Fusion
Essentials.
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SiteGenWiz
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Enersoft's SiteGenWiz is designed to allow absolute beginners
to create web sites and online photo albums without needing to know anything
about HTML at all. The program includes a full-featured photo-album/image-gallery
generator and you can select from 10 different templates, define a menu structure
for your pages and choose your colors, fonts, bullets, and background images
by simply pointing and clicking. You can also create and edit your pages
with the program's WYSIWYG editor; set formatting options (eg: headline,
subheadline, text, bold, italic, and underline); and easily add links and
images in the same way. SiteGenWiz will automatically generate site maps
and image galleries (which can be web-optimised). And when you're finished,
you can upload the finished result to your web server with SiteGenWiz's
in-built FTP. SiteGenWiz is somewhat limited because of what
it does and the way it works - but if you don't want to learn anything about
HTML (and that applies to a lot of people) this may well be
the editor for you. SiteGenWiz runs on all versions of Windows from
Win98 to Windows XP.
Get SiteGenWiz.
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Other HTML Editor Resources
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Last updated: 26-Feb-2008
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