HTML editor for novice?

[randomo]

Hi guys,

I want to buy an HTML editor, mainly to update existing web pages, but also to make some simple new pages now and then. (I've been using Microsoft Publisher for my websites ... the less said about that, the better.)

What program would you recommend for someone who knows basic HTML but is not an expert coder or designer? (And who also doesn't want to spend more than mid $xx?)

I don't need a lot of bells and whistles, but I would like to have an interactive graphic display in addition to a code display. I've been using a trial version of Coffee Cup Software's HTML editor ... seemed OK, but not great, and I don't want to commit $49 to them before I hear some advice from you guys.

Thanks a lot,
Dave

 

[ablaye]

Try textpad. That's what I use.

 

[lepunk]

please do not buy dreamweaver or something like this! these wysiwyg editors are generating code which looks like sht! I recommend you to download the freely aviable Programmers Notepad! It has all of functions you need

 

[Gandhi]

Notepad, WordPady, http://www.pspad.com/ http://editplus.com/ edit+ and PSPAD I use both, but mostly use notepad, because loads fast, and simple

 

[lepunk]

Notepad, WordPady, http://www.pspad.com/ http://editplus.com/ edit+ and PSPAD I use both, but mostly use notepad, because loads fast, and simple

hehe! notepad is the only reliable microsux software(and solitarie maybe) :D

 

[McDot]

please do not buy dreamweaver or something like this! these wysiwyg editors are generating code which looks like sht! I recommend you to download the freely aviable Programmers Notepad! It has all of functions you need

Sorry, I don't agree with that.

Dreamweaver is one of the most pwerfull Editors you will find. Many WYSIWYG features produce very nice code, others need a little correction. A lot of heltfull features in coding mode, excelent PHP Support and a supberb CSS Editor complete a very solid market leading product.

Not quite es good, but free is NVU (www.nvu.com)

It is up to you, what you do in direct coding and what you do with help of the various assistants available.

 

[randomo]

Thanks for all the advice - I'm eager for more.

Dreamweaver is out of my price range, though ...

(Trivia fact: I used to work for the guy who invented the term WYSIWYG!) :D

 

[McDot]

Thanks for all the advice - I'm eager for more.

Dreamweaver is out of my price range, though ...

(Trivia fact: I used to work for the guy who invented the term WYSIWYG!) :D

Just a tip:

There is a full Version of Studio 8 (including Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Flash Professional and more) for Students, Teachers and so on, that can be bought for about 120 $. Check if you, or someone in your family could apply for that.

PS
Based on the licence agreement, you should avoid using it for commercial (paid) designing jobs.

 

[randomo]

Just a tip:

There is a full Version of Studio 8 (including Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Flash Professional and more) for Students, Teachers and so on, that can be bought for about 120 $. Check if you, or someone in your family could apply for that.

PS
Based on the licence agreement, you should avoid using it for commercial (paid) designing jobs.

Thanks for the tip. I am a teacher, so I could probably qualify for this!

Whatever software I get, I wouldn't use it for paid designing jobs ... but I do want to use it for maintaining websites that aren't related to my teaching job (and that I hope will make some money). That probably disqualifies me.

 

[McDot]

Thanks for the tip. I am a teacher, so I could probably qualify for this!

Whatever software I get, I wouldn't use it for paid designing jobs ... but I do want to use it for maintaining websites that aren't related to my teaching job (and that I hope will make some money). That probably disqualifies me.

Check the Licence agreement. I think that should be OK.
You and your family can use the produkt for private purposes and if your income is related to AdSense or similar, there should be no problem.

Of course, if you are creating a commercial site, you are not complying with the licence agreement.

 

[peter phillips]

I think getting a WYSIWYG editor would be a good idea. It's helpful because you can build something very quickly and look at the code that helped to create it. They're bad when you make large pages with lots of stuff, but for a basic page they're just fine.

 

[pdcom]

For anyone just starting out with HTML, I strongly suggest learning CSS right from the get-go. I haven't used many different HTML editors, but the ones I have used seem too reliant on tables for page layout. Tables are "old school" and quite inefficient for use in layout. CSS, on the other hand, is far more efficient, saving you tons of time on updates, as well as loads of bandwidth (your pages will load much faster).

Unfortunately, I began my HTML "career" with tables and wish I had jumped on the CSS bandwagon much sooner. Consequently, my website is bogged down in tables, making it slow to load and not too easy to edit. I'm in the process of converting the entire site to CSS, which is pretty time consuming.

CSS isn't hard to learn, so go with it right from the start. Here are a few resources I am finding to be very helpful:

• http://www.w3.org/Style/CSS/ (learning CSS)
• http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/ (validating your CSS)
• http://blog.html.it/layoutgala/ (free, simple layouts to get you started)
• http://www.westciv.com/style_master/ (design software with a free 30-day trial, comes with a tutorial - I just started using this)

Of course, there are tons of other CSS-related sites, but I have found these sites to be an easy way to get started.

Before now, I would probably have recommended xSitePro, although the price tag is higher than what you're looking for. It provides both WYSIWYG and code views, which is a necessity for any site-building software as far as I'm concerned. The biggest drawback is that it is heavily reliant on tables, so now I'm paying the price for not CSS-ing sooner!

Best of luck to you!

 

[McDot]

For anyone just starting out with HTML, I strongly suggest learning CSS right from the get-go.

Oh yes, nowadays you should separate content from format. CSS is extremely powerfull for that. Search engines will also rate you better, if they don't need to work separating all the code salad from the real content.

Here also, Dreamweawer is highly recomendable.

 

[LeetPCUser2]

Although Dreamweaver is expensive, I use it too. I don't use any of the WYSIWYG capability but I like it a lot more than other coding programs. The fact is it does a great job of making the code easy to read and clean. On top of that, when coding, it helps you with some fill in the blanks. This is extremely nice when you get a bit more sophisticated and use CSS.

Hope this helps!

 

[Damion]

[*]http://www.westciv.com/style_master/ (design software with a free 30-day trial, comes with a tutorial - I just started using this)

Thank you Christine for posting that link.
Myself being a novice as well and having a hard time understanding CSS/Coding/Programming this looks like a very good start

 

[Jeffrey]

If you are a novice, then you need Dreamweaver. Try some tutorials on HTML first. www.tutorialized.com is the best place to look for tutorials.

 

[Hayes]

I recommend this site for when you're doing quick edits:

http://htmledit.squarefree.com/

Real-time HTML editor, makes it easy to see if what you did looks good or if you messed something up.

 

[Zona]

I'd really suggest you checkout www.nvu.com

When I was first starting, I downloaded nvu and used it everyday. It is a great product if you are just getting started and most importantly it is free.

 

[weblord]

you may want to try web site builder, it's free and they claim it's good for starters and novices
http://www.servage.net/page/websitebuilder/
hth