[ozzie]

I need to start learning either XHTML or HTML. I have learned that there are many HTML editors. Which one is the best for a beginner to use?

I've also heard that notepad is a good HTML editor but I haven't been able to figure out how to make that work for me. I would appreciate any help with that. Thanks.

[Expat629]

Notepad is good for writing HTML because the program will not auto-format or interpret anything for you (unlike MS Word), but it can't be used as a WYSIWYG HTML editor.

Not sure how familiar you are with HTML already, but if you right click on a webpage and select "View Source", you can see the page's code in its entirety. This is how you would have to write it if you were working in Notepad; not recommended for beginners!

[sweet_mayhem]

although i'm still a beginner when it comes to web designing, i have to agree that notepad can be so taxing to beginners! we've had it during secondary school and college and while it really tests your diligence, it can be frustrating because you actually know that you can achieve the same effects without putting too much work. anyway, my cousin suggested microsoft frontpage to me when i complained about notepad--do you think it's a good idea? i haven't really tried using it since i'm still into exploring adobe photoshop at the moment.

[Eskymo]

I personally use dreamweaver just because that's the program they had in the first company i worked for and so that's what I learnt.

I think it's very good.

[ozzie]

I've heard a lot of good things about MS Frontpage and Dreamweaver but they are both really expensive to purchase. Maybe I can find a web host who offers one of those in their hosting package.

[Eskymo]

You could always try CoffeeCup as they do a lot of free and also cheap software for the web. I'm sure you'll find something that will suit your needs on their site.

[digitalphase]

CoffeeCup is a good free editor - as Eskymo suggested - and also, as I use, NVU.

I do also use Dreamweaver but DW annoys me in that it tries to be a little be too clever and anticipates what you want, so if you're not careful you get things added when you don't want them added and just a whole lot of mess

When I was learning I used Notepad and then swapped to CC but CC won't work on my Mac so I found NVU a good alternative

[Eskymo]

You can adjust the setting in dreamweaver so that it doesn't put in lots of nonsense on your behalf. I've got mine set to the predictive thing as I type very fast and it helps me type even faster as it inputs the code that I want. When you get used to it, it does really help speed up your coding.

[tiff]

That is what I used when I am working on HTML is notepad or like Word program so you really don't need a fancy editor.

[paperclip]

I like Notepad because even as a begginer it forces you to learn about what you are doing, not to take it for granted. It also helps to understand the code when you see a feature on a site you like.

As for editors, I like Dreamweaver, but if you design for someone else Frontpage is the way to go, because most companies will have it if they choose to host their own site.

[JohnR]

Eskymo, on Oct 2 2006, 07:23 PM, said:

I personally use dreamweaver just because that's the program they had in the first company i worked for and so that's what I learnt.

I think it's very good.

Dreamweaver is by far the best HTML and a lot of other web coding language editors. It has so many features you could never dream of. I just got it last night, and I love it.

[JWood]

I personally use a freely available Notepad replacement called "xint." It color-codes your HTML, so you can easily see when you forget to close a tag.

Dreamweaver is great for advanced users... but it instills bad habits in novices. Also, it's prohibitively expensive for beginners.

I can, however, recommend a great book for beginners. It's called Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML. Notepad, xint, Dreamweaver, whatever... it'll help tremendously. It's well written, and it's not too expensive at all.

[Eskymo]

That book sounds good - it's got very good reviews at amazon:

Amazon Reviews

[Twineball]

I used HomeSite for awhile. It was pretty darn good for me as I've been learning myself. Now I use AceHTML. It's not quite as functional, but it still gets the job done.

[spieler45]

I use Coffee Cup and I love it. It comes with a few scripts built in for your usage, including java and dhtml and others.

I would like to recommend Daves HTML tutorial which can be found on
hxxp://www.davesite.com/webstation/html/

[BabyBen]

Twineball, on Nov 20 2006, 06:40 PM, said:

I used HomeSite for awhile. It was pretty darn good for me as I've been learning myself.

I've been using HomeSite for a bit, and I flit between Homestyle, DW and notepad - I need to find 'my' editor of choice!

[repeat-x]

I use dreamweaver.

I started out using dreamweaver, and im still using it - it does everything I need

[BenG]

I personally use Dreamweaver 8.


But NVU

http://www.nvu.com/screenshots.php

is very good as its FREE

Coffee cup software is also good value, and very nice

[Dave]

NVU looks remarkably like Dreamweaver. I personally use dreamweaver because I like it writing my code for me. ( I hand code). It has plenty of shortcuts and the build in FTP is ideal

[Ehsan]

I have used Aptana it looks pretty good its open source (free) so u don't have a to worry about a thing.

[BabyBen]

BenG, on Mar 20 2007, 01:34 PM, said:

I personally use Dreamweaver 8.
But NVU

http://www.nvu.com/screenshots.php

is very good as its FREE

Coffee cup software is also good value, and very nice

I tried NVU and wasn't too keen - it kept auto adjusting my documents, which I didn't like.

[RyanDaRin]

BBEDIT is by far the best http://www.barebones...roducts/bbedit/
I use it for both (x)html, css, and php. It has syntax for all of them and its not as huge as dreamweaver, nor does it cost as much.

[Cromo]

Dreamweaver is not your friend lol.

i hate it. i have it. but i hate it.

i can hand-code a site in bbedit and its looks great. but if i do the same code in dreamweaver WTF it dont work.

i have it because ok its useful when im installing forums on my local server so i can test them its easy to look at the code and add my server details. (im also looking at customization)

but i dont like it at all.

BBedit 8.0 all the way!!

[adam2z]

i use dreamweaver. its industry standard for a reason.

[Alexander]

JohnR, on Oct 23 2006, 03:27 PM, said:

Dreamweaver is by far the best HTML and a lot of other web coding language editors. It has so many features you could never dream of. I just got it last night, and I love it.

Did you Dreamweaver CS3? cause I have that one, but I have been working since dreamweaver MX was out, and I love the CS3 it's AMAZING!

[Wildo]

Dreamweaver CS3 is a big mistake in my opinion.

only 'new' thing is that it comes with some standard javascript functions and such. Most of them suck even.

Wildo

[W3Daryl]

I am a big fan of Adobe Dreamweaver CS3, I've been using Dreamweaver since version 4.0. When it comes to Web Development it is not for no reason that Dreamweaver is the industry standard. For someone who wants to learn how to code XHTML / HTML it has a lot of great features. The main ones you will like as a novice is 1) Syntax Highlighting 2) Ability to collapse code select an opening tag or closing tag, click collapse and you can see where it starts and ends 3) Special Character conversion 4) Ability to maintain multiple websites 5) Flipping between design, coding, and split views. And thats just a start. I'd also stay as far away as possible from Frontpage as its code is substandard. Cheers.