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This is a great list, but does any one of these other editors come close to offering the features and ease of use that DreamWeaver does? I don’t know of any professional web designer/developer that uses anything other than DreamWeaver.

Another great cross platform tool is Aptana

I used FrontPage a couple of years ago when I was just starting with web design but I was so annoyed with its code that I quit WYSIWYG editors. But judging by the list, I’d give Nvu a shot..

Nice summary. CODA should also be mentioned: http://www.panic.com/coda/

I don’t know of any professional web designer/developer that uses anything other than DreamWeaver.

Are you serious!?!?!

How about mentioning some of the professional programs used by professionals on here, like Eclipse, Netbeans, .NET, etc…. Real professionals use a development environment that helps and supports the coding language your writing. Sure, cutting your teeth on dreamweaver or one of these other freebie toys is a great way learn the ropes. You need to move into textpad or something non-GUI based to really gain any real talent or skill.

A lot of big companies will ask you to hand write out some code for them as an example in an interview. If DOCTYPE and meta information wasn’t the first thing you thought of when reading that, your not even close yet to being a professional and should consider switching to a different development environment.

“Im a geek i code by hand and refresh. wysiwyg is for lazy. real developers use .net and need intelisense…” man why do people get so edgy about this stuff. obviously some tools work better for others. I use dreamweaver to manage files, and quickly edit pages. I code by hand or use there tools when its faster. Code a table by hand vs a wysiwyg (and before you go on about tables I mean for tabular use you standards compliant nazi freaks).

At the end of the day- for PHP, Ruby or .net programming or whatever you need a different tool. for whipping a up a quick 10 page website that you charge $5K for and want done in 2 days- you need a streamlines approach, easy tools, and XHTML&CSS knowledge. not this tool or that tool.

I was hoping to read about a wysiwyg editor that:
– warns me of problomatic CSS- ie bugs, x-browser rendering differeces. Not because i don’t know, but because i have a life outside of work and forget over the years all the bugs. monday after a big weekend and a websites due nothings worse than looking at some code knowing you’ve solved the problem before and can’t remember.

- has intellegent CSS design. has lightbox and sifr and grids and ajax stuff inbuild, and updatable from their website like an rss feed or something. I read and keep up to date on the latest and greatest ninja code techniques but i got other things on my mind too, im trying to learn motion design, get out of the house more and I can’t keep on top of new knoweldge forever. – maybe thats why some people get so anus over discussions like this, they have invested so much time into the knowledge its become part of their identity and they feel the need to let everyone know what they know. I know someone else who was bursting to express himself: Seung-Hui Cho. yeah. didn’t work out so good.

I think some of you need to go for a walk and calm down. Just because someone doesn’t develop/code/design/build the same way you do doesn’t mean you’re right or they are right.

we can all be right.

except frontpage/sharepoint designer lovers. Can you believe that I can’t even force MOSS to be standards compliant and SharePoint Designer has the nerve to tell me I’m writing bad code.

Notepad is the only way to edit any web content. If you aren’t fluent with HTML, XSLT, etc, you have no business doing any kind of web design. Learn your server model languages and get bck to us actual web professionals. Syntax coloring and dynamic validation is for ignorant pussies.

Coda for Mac+CSS Edit=Amazing. Please include these programs next time!

maybe Aptana is the best editor too.

As i said, i use notepad++ to code everything, sintax highlight helps to seperate the vars and it’s quick to find specific code. I feel sad that some people says that coding is professional and using wysiwug software is for newbies, it has nothing to do with it. Being professional is all about the final result, not the tools you use to reach the goals. Even coding could demonstrate a bigger knowledge than someone using software, it doesnt mean the final result will be better ;)

I use Quanta Plus, it’s not really WYSIWYG editor. I like it because it offers a comfortable code editor for XHTML and CSS, and syntax highlight for JavaScript. However, sometimes a prefer using Aptana for JavaScript and PHP.
I think if a developer cares about web standards, accessibility etc, handcoding will be his/her natural choice, even with Dreamweaver (argh!!!).

I can make a site in notepad too!

I’m so cool. it’s the outcome not the tool.

tools

I always use Dreamweaver. you can split the screen, so you can code by hand and see what you’ve written. by the way i really like the code highlighting and the ftp-thing. You don’t have to work WYSIWYG with Dreamweaver, just use it as an editor.

Tim you are a twat

is there any list out there to read trough for photoshop plugins, what they do or photoshop actions to make the life easier?

my editor is notepad++. i switched from dreamweaver after a loving relationship for more then 4 years. notepad++ looks good, gives me everything i need, can be pimped with new colour-shemes and make it unique ( for design-lovers only ) but too use and handle this free tool is outstanding.

again a great and useful article. and maybe someone can hel me with my question from above ;)

Up next week, “25 WYSIWYG Word Processors Reviewed”

Of course, we all know that real writers use LaTeX. Hand written in Notepad. :)

What does “concorcium” mean?

some professional web designers just use a good non WYSIWYG editor like UltraEdit and page opnened in several browsers to cut the design coming from PSD or AI but this is about WYSIWYG :)

Oh!….

Why Still some of the developers to develop thier pages without using the WYSISWYG editors.
Its waste of time & Energy

Choose better WYSIWYG editor suitable to your project. save your time.

IMHO the best WYSIWYG editor for web is a set of Photoshop + Aptana/Eclipse + browsers’ dev tools.

Where is CODA? :)

I started web design in 1997 using notepad. Moved on to Hotdog pro (anyone remember that?). For the last 6 years I’ve been using dreamweaver simply because it cuts out a lot of the gunk and the speed I create pages is so fast. I can hand code HTML and CSS with my eyes shut but I would never hand code simply because it takes too much time.

Good post but looking at this lot I’ll still be using DreamWeaver (Visual studio 2008 has got a lot better for the front end designer but still DW is the best imho).

Agree it would be nice to see a review of text/code editors. And I’d love for you to find out from Adobe why one of the best editors out there – HomeSite – has been left to rot. I believe it’s because they put all their eggs in DW, but it would be nice to know for sure.

don’t care what anyone says… i love the GoLive.. and i was happy with at least a v. 9 that did come out with some really great tools that i hope one day would make it into dreamweaver. until my golive 9 dies i refuse to make the switch the interface is so much easier than dreamweaver.

goliver since 6.0!

dreamweaver for me is the best! ^^

25 editors and you miss Coda, how dare you!

Yuriy, you are off target on a few points.

A) DreamWeaver does not have a “real” code folding algorithm at all, and does a pathetic attempt at doing such. For instance, you have “code fold” anything you can highlight. So, I could, if I wanted to, code fold “DreamWeaver” to “+D..R”. Yeah, that’s not what code folding is.

B) DW is a huge memory hog. Running files up to 600 lines of code or more seriously begin to choke the system you are running. Having color syntax highlighting and “code folding” even adds more salt to this wound.

C) It requires a hefty 800mb to install and most of this is for the WYSIWYG aspects of the install. So, if you are claiming that you only use it for the basic features of projects and FTP because you code by hand, why would you go through all of this rather than switching to one of the ridiculously fast and light weight alternatives that include these features? Maybe you are a masochist? I don’t want to assume.

D) Perhaps you are using the DWT template feature? If this is so, don’t get me started about how flawed that is.

E) Well, to be honest I lost track of all of the reasons I have come up with over the years as to why DW is bad. And yes, I have used CS3 and none of these issues have been addressed.

In summary, if you claim to use DW like a “real designer” should (who knows anything about standards and proper web design), then you are either a masochist or really are using some aspect you are not claiming to when you consider that any decent aspect that the “IDE” offers you is available in various free software that runs 100% faster and more reliably.

lol! ACK!! k guys. I’m what you’d call a “potential client”:)

To quote a part of the article; “Sometimes you need to provide your clients with some simple tools to edit or update their web-sites. And this is where the utility of WYSIWYG-editors comes in. As a web-professional you need to provide your clients with some sophisticated advice and offer a simple yet effective tool — e.g. a WYSIWYG-editor.”

Seems some of you are missing the point here! Might not be about what editor YOU use as a professional but what you can provide your clients to use to update and maintain their own sites. Times are tough as I’m sure we all know! I for one as a potential client couldn’t really afford to hire a designer/coder much less purchase software such as DW!! Throw your clients a bone now and again and they’ll refer you to their contacts which could very well = some good income for you;)

BTW…being someone that needs a site done but due to the lack of any extra funds…PERIOD. I appreciate this list! As a potential client speaking IF I were to be able to pay someone to do a site for me I sure wouldn’t care HOW on earth they did it as long as it was functional, I loved it AND I got some more bang for my buck by being introduced to one of these wysiwyg editors by my web guy to make changes and updates on my own, whenever I found the need to:)

Another vote for microsoft’s Visual Web Developer. It’s free, and good.

thanks people..i was facing some editors issues

it gonna help me a lot

I code and design all of my sites in my mind. If anyone actually needs to use a computer to code, design, or even view Web Pages, they’re clearly an amateur and have no place in the 21st Century. If I was transported to 1843 I could still code web sites using a hammer and chisel. Alright? So even if you use Notepad or a notepad, keep in mind that real web professionals rely on their wit and self-satisfaction and wouldn’t touch a computer with a ten-foot pole.

For Potential Client:
You will always find designers who are willing to work for less, and it always shows.
The way every client out there needs to look at it is this: any one can write a book, but it doesn’t mean it will be done well. So, the real issue is this: are you the kind of client who just don’t care about who writes their book or if it’s well done, or are you the kind who sees the value in what it really is?
There are plenty out there who just see their web site as just a page everyone will view in Internet Explorer, like it’s some necessity for the web. Like putting their little flag in soil. That’s fine. It will show and reflect poorly on their business.
On the other hand, there are plenty of clients out there who realise the importance of the web and various things that come with a web site done well, and they will pay for it. After all, it’s not just a web site that mentions your business, it’s part of your presence and branding. Would you pay just any schmuck to build you office?

A

Dreamweaver? Are you goddam crazy? It makes bad code, it messes up style sheets, it sends files across by FTP when you don’t want it to.

I used it for a couple of years but dumped it for a code editor as soon as I got proficient.

Don’t rely on it!

Akiva Levy,

RE A) DreamWeaver’s “fake” code folding is actually the best feature it has. Using the select+fold method I can fold anything I want, whether it’s a block of code, a big comment, several helper functions, whatever. I love this feature and seriously miss it wherever “real” code folding is implemented. I do not want to be restricted to only folding the data between { and }, as is the case with many editors.

RE B) I have never noticed any memory hogging problems with Dreamweaver. I often have several files of several *thousand* lines open, among with a couple smaller ones, and I have never experienced any problems with speed. Furthermore, if I have Dreamweaver open, chances are I’m also running Photoshop (which is using anywhere from 500mb – 1.5GB of RAM), Firefox (don’t even get me started), and a bunch of other apps. I’m using an Intel E4300 (1.8GHZ C2D) with 4GB of DDR2 and very rarely experience any kind of lag. And face it, this hardware is dirt cheap and commonly available.

RE C) You’re complaining about hard drive space… in 2008? A 500GB drive (of which I have 4) costs $100… The only problem here is that CS3 takes forever to install, but that’s a one time process (and if you make a ghost image of your clean system + CS3, it’s the last time you go through it).

The FTP feature is great because sometimes I get work which had to be done on a remote server through F T P. I would much rather hit CTRL+S and have the file automatically uploaded than save it, alt-tab to another FTP client (which, by now, has probably dropped the connection), upload the new file and then choose “YES” in the replace-existing-file dialog… Dreamweaver’s F T P feature all the way!

RE D) Never looked at it, never used it. I have custom (independent from Dreamweaver) snippets of code for everything I commonly use.

RE E) Your reasons over the years cannot possibly be relevant today. Dreamweaver has gone through a couple big updates in the CS series and is a wonderful editor for many reasons. I don’t consider it as a WYSIWYG editor. I look at it as a powerful and convenient development environment. Some of my favourite features (custom code folding, code completion, code prediction, built-in FTP, etc) are flat out not supported by 90% of the other editors. And the ones that DO support these features are plain unusable due to their horrible interfaces. If I can’t look at an editor for longer than 10 minutes, I’m not going to use it.

The only feature (and I’m probably just missing something here) that Dreamweaver lacks and that I want is customizable themes. I like dark themes such as Blackboard for Textmate (which I’ve been recently using with e Text Editor), and the several dark themes which are available for gedit on Linux.

In summary, I *do* use Dreamweaver like a “real” designer, and a developer. As it happens I do much more coding (front end – xhtml/css/javascript and back end – php/mysql/cms systems) than actual design, and I love Dreamweaver for every aspect of the development process.

As it so happens, I despise WYSIWYG editors and their results. If I have to install one for a client’s CMS project (most often Drupal), it will be TinyMCE because I can configure every aspect of it.

It’s quite foolish to associate certain software with “professionals” and other software with “beginners”. I know professionals who use notepad, and I know complete beginners (and idiots) who use ZendStudio. It’s not what you use, it’s what you produce.

@Akiva:

You simply don’t ENTER new data into the design view. It would be silly, because there’s no way to select exactly at what line you want to insert a div, etc. However, the ability to, in code view, insert a div with a given class “around selection” or “at selection point” or whatever it says (it’s so automatic for me, hehehe) … that’s a real time saver for me, and a perfectly valid use of code and features.

I have made use of the myriad of DW features… like having a library of snippets I’ve created, for CSS layouts and their corresponding CSS selectors… I manage multiple clients via the “Sites”, etc.

I don’t believe DreamWeaver was intended to be “primarily a WYSIWYG editor” and I challenge you to find that Macromedia or Adobe intended for most work to be done in the design view. I do all my work in split screen or code view, but I appreciate the design window, for sure. You can see when divs butt against each other without enough padding, when something that should have a background simply doesnt, etc. The design view, without having to preview in a browser on a localhost, is a significantly useful feature.

I think you have to really use Dreamweaver for an extended period of time to appreciate the features it offers the professional. I also think it is elitist and unnecessary for those who use code editors to condemn its use without giving the CS3 release a test drive.

John:

Dreamweaver? Are you goddam crazy? It makes bad code, it messes up style sheets, it sends files across by FTP when you don’t want it to.

I used it for a couple of years but dumped it for a code editor as soon as I got proficient.

Don’t rely on it!

I’d have to say that I am indeed god damn crazy! Dreamweaver only makes bad code if you use it in design view only and then, the code isn’t so bad. Any site that I develop is done in Dreamweaver and when they are handed over to the client, they ALL validate as XHTML Strict. As far as my continued use of DW? I was proficient in coding before turning to DW. Everyone just seems to assume that if you’re using DW, you’re totally negating the Code view aspect of the app, when that is indeed where I do all my hand-coding with the design view split so I can see how the site lays out as I’m coding by hand. Seems pretty straight-forward to me and if that makes me god damn crazy, then I’ll make a shirt and wave some banners.

Akiva:

We haven’t even begun to address other bloat produced by DW, such as all the lock and note files. I have had many wonderful moments with DW downloading sites that should have been ~1,000 files altogether but actually consisted of ~4,000 due to such files.

.lck files are no substitute for real design tools such as Subversion.

Using the “Ftp” is buggy, and extremely bandwidth expensive.

If you claim to be a real design and rely on the page rendering in DW alone, a real designer you are not. If you are falling back and checking other browsers, concerning yourself with this aspect of DW as a reason not to leave it is not very legitimate.

I beg to differ Akiva. All these “extra files” you are referring to is because someone never set-up their preferences not to have them or they created the sites as templates with only certain areas editable. The power of Dreamweaver is in the preferences. You can set the app up to pretty much render any way you want to. Which includes not using the FTP if not needed. I prefer to use Fetch instead of the built-in function in DW.

Lastly, as far as your claims of being a “real designer” and using the Dreamweaver design view area to see how your design is rendering, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. I’ve just saved myself 2 steps by using the split view in the app. I also am proficient enough in my coding to know, if it renders correctly in design view, the only browser I’m going to have issues with is IE 6. You’re also assuming that “professional designers” are only relying on the Design view screen to test their site. Sorry, not true. I’ve got a Mac and a PC for browser testing purposes.

I recommend for those that are game, installing ubuntu, setting up 6 desktops on the cube, installing the IE viewer in Wine, on screen 1, so thats 3 ies 5, 5.5 and 6, on screen 2, opera, on 3 Firefox, on 4 Konqueror and on 5 Quanta+ or whatever your editor of choice, then you can test until your brain implodes. justr watch out for those IE`s if they stay open too long they will kill anything.

maybe we should make a difference between design a webpage and cut the markup
how many designers are using a WYSIWYG editor instead of Photoshop or Illustrator? no idea

in any case nothing is more WYSIWYG than chaeck the page in a browser, not in an editor window

I write software. Sometimes its for the Web. From the “writing more code”-perspective I prefer Microsofts “Visual Web Developer” (standalone free Express version or commercial as a part of visual studio) over Expression Web. Additionally to be named are features like the source control integration, ability to write add-Ins…

Pointing to your next review of course it has great coding features ;-)

bleh I cant use wysiwyg unless im updating my blog, my development its a crutch.

Very nice! This helps a lot. Thanks!

Jamie, it is more of a break away from comfort zone when we designers have to move from Dreamweaver to something new, we may use plain notepad but don’t ask us to use Visual Studio :))

Myself have been using Dreamweaver from the very first version.

I am not sure if anyone can beat Dreamweaver – I agree with the last post. I’ve been on it for years and love it so much (or set in my way) – It’s very hard to make myself migrate to a new software.

I have tried a few WYSIWYG editors in my time, and have experienced bloated code and some were hard to optimize for the search engines. Recently, I have found out about a new online editor at http://www.Sitemasher.com- kicked it around under a demo account and was surprised how much better it is than the ones in the past I tested – they are getting better.

I think it is also my comfort zone, and I have in the back of my mind, that if I learn a WYSIYG editor and design a site I can benefit from it. If I do, atleast I can hand over the site maintenance to my clients and not have to deal with the pain in the butt text edits they call me to do…because they will never learn Dreamweaver and I will never incorporate Contribute as it is not good…. I may be sold on these new editors, we’ll see….

Photoshop and Illustrator is for design for professionals. HTML and CSS just needs a good Texteditor. Aptana with Eclipse is one of them. Its not the big thing to write HTML, Javascript and CSS in source code when you have to do it almost every week.

aptana is an open-source extension of the eclipse Java Editor. It’s a programmer’s editor morphed into web development, and it may be exactly what you’re looking for. It has syntax coloring and code completion for HTML /XHTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, and many AJAX libraries built in. It has a feature for previewing your page instantly, ability to work directly with an FTP server, and lots of plugins. The community edition is open source and completely free, with all the features you need. I used it extensively with my book, though I also use the Firefox web developer toolbar’s css editor (also free) to edit CSS in real time. This has the advantage of writing your own code but seeing the results immediately.

As a noob, I learned more from the comments here, than from the article!

I’m starting with just a text editor. I’m a GNU/Linux fan, use Debian (KDE), and currently using the KWrite text editor. It’s become obvious to me the best way to learn is writing code by hand with a text editor (thanks for this tip!, it makes sense). It’s also astonishing how much bad advice there is for a ‘noob’. WYSIWYG for a noob? Morons.

As I get better, I’ll probably move up to a better editor, like bluefish.

When I start learning PHP, I’ll probably move up to Quanta Plus.

I find it hard to believe anyone would actually PAY MONEY for a tool, when there are many great tools available for free!

Funny that NetObjects Fusion didn’t get a fair shake in this review. It’s a great tool and produces very pro results. When you need a pin-point accuracy in terms of object placements on a page, NOF is the tool. The code got better too over time. NOF isn’t really the best thing for those who pride themselves on using Notepad to produce a 100-page site. But for a designer who works lots in InDesign or Photoshop, NOF makes lots of sense. Anywho, if using Windows, I strongly prefer NetObjects Fusion or GoLive. With Mac OS X, I prefer working with Freeway Pro but also frequently use Sandvox and RapidWeaver.

I use textmate for mac. It’s a pretty awesome tool. Check out the videos on their site. Google it.

“Some of you people need to stop being so self-righteous. The problem isn’t the editor, it is the person doing the editing.”

I agree with Lynsey. Reading half of these comments would make you sick. Each to their own in my opinion. Its the end result that matters, not how you did it. If your client is happy that is all that matters. Also DW is a brilliant DESIGN tool. I was forced to use Notepad recently, which I havent had to use for a few years, to mock up a page. It took 10 times the amount of time to do it than if I had used DW. I can hard code and did have to but why do it when half if not all of the work is done for you in something as powerful and graphical as DW?

i am using dreamweaver, it’s very comfortable to me but please list out the good html and css editor software and also this list is very useful to me, thanks a lot ……

I use Mozilla Firefox 3. I’ve added two great Add-Ons, Codetch & FireFTP.
Even though I have Dreamweaver, I still prefer to use Codetch over Dreamweaver. I’m not much for WYSIWYG editors unless there’s something in the code that I can’t figure out, after I’ve read many tutorials on that matter.

second that. wysywyg editor is horrible. for abs. beg. only

I use whatever works-
html when necessary
templates when necessary
cut and paste html
notepad, PSPad, etc.

Whatever works.
Then again, my primary output to the universe is a typepad blog whose html and css I occasionally tweak: *impulse

IAdditionally, I have coded for a few friends and for a few artists, but nothing extensive. My viewpoint is more one of principle than of practice.

It is almost certain that eventually a WYSIWYG editor will be developed that integrates everything nicely and outputs compliant code…this will work fine for a few years and will wipe out notepad coders until it falls into obsolescence, and then there will be a renaissance of coding. Didn’t this sort of already happen?

Paul

Everyone misses the point…it’s nothing to do with the editor.. it’s the webmaster that makes the site… just because you use a particular editor does not make you the better web designer, coding, design or seo or whatever it may be.. you might be good at one and not at the others or any combination.

The smart people use the tools that get the job done, whatever they may be. They also continue to learn and never stop.

I started designing web pages with Netobjects Fusion, when it was version 2.0, maybe 10 years ago. I can say that it’s not a tool that can be compared with Dreamweaver. But it’s perfect for beginners, who has no idea about coding. I don’t think that, the quality of the code is so important for a very small business or a dummy user who try to preapare a static web site of 10 pages. It has a very attractive feature that you can design a web page easily like you are working on your desktop. You can drag anything in the screen, and it’s really extremely easy for beginners. And this feature is really deserving respect because they made that many years ago.
I don’t have idea about the code quality of the latest version.
But I really recommend that product for users who don’t have any idea about coding, and who are not interested to know what’s happening in the background.
And for people who likes technology, I suggest them to download the trial and to take a look at the interface and features just for fun.
I like Smashing Magazine really so much, and mostly I agree with their reviews, but this time I think Fusion deserves more than that..

As a designer of 8 years I use DW every day but began my career coding my first web sites in Notepad. Learning the basics is necessary but DW is just the job for me using xhtml and css.
I also tutor a web design class and we teach them xhtml strict and css. Later in the year we introduce them to DW. Surprisingly, almost all the students last year preferred to hard code in PSPad and wanted to master it and use it to build their end of year projects before learning DW.

I’ve been using WYSIWYG Web Builder for about three years now and find it a remarkably easy piece of software to use. My website is 6000+ pages and the software handles it quite happily. It’s cheap to buy and the support is excellent. I would thoroughly recommend this to anyone wanting to make a good looking website quickly and easily.