Editors

By Neal Thomas, updated by Duane Taylor
January 2001

Introduction

While it is easy to create HTML files from scratch, there are many HTML editors on the market that can increase your efficiency and reduce the number of errors that appear in your code. And despite their name, HTML editors can usually lend a hand with CSS and ASP without any problems. These programs can help:

• manage projects
• visualize information architecture
• adhere to HTML 4.0 specifications
• prototype new designs quickly
• validate work

There are a wide range of software solutions for producing HTML, from a shareware editor that costs $15, to a fully-featured editor geared towards sophisticated production and management that costs $500 or more.

Text-based vs. WYSIWYG

At one time, all HTML editors were text-based and showed the HTML code underlying the file being created. Over the past few years, What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) programs have been introduced to allow people to design web sites without ever seeing the HTML code. The best HTML editors include both features. A programmer can switch back and forth between text mode and WYSIWYG with ease.

Following standards

Key to producing quality Web pages is using an editor that strictly adheres to HTML specifications as set forth by the W3C. Some editors, such as Microsoft's FrontPage software, often generate code that is designed to work primarily in a particular browser (e.g., Internet Explorer), but is not technically valid when subjected to more rigorous Internet-wide standards. It is important to ensure that publishing systems will allow validation without actually automatically generating errors!

Gaining control

Design staff will often prototype pages using a combination of graphic design and "hand coding"—visualizing how the graphics need to be cut up and fit back together using HTML. It is therefore important that designers choose an editor that allows for a sophisticated level of control. Some editors advertise "non-destructive HTML coding," that will not rearrange hand-coded pages to fit the less-sophisticated logic of the software.

Software to think about

There are three editors that will generally serve the needs of a small- to medium-sized organization (click on any of the followong software packages to get to an external online review at Cnet.com):

• Allaire HomeSite
• Macromedia Dreamweaver
• Adobe GoLive