Brandon's Place: Help! Which Web Authoring Tool?

Web Authoring Tools

Remember that old 70's R&B song by The Dramatics called “Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get”? Well, they could have named the song WYSIWYG, although admittedly that acronym doesn’t roll off the tongue well.

In the programming world there exist a plethora of Web Authoring Tools that will allow you to create dynamic web pages, and view in real time what your code would look like when published. This functionality is called WYSIWYG (What You See is What You Get). WYSIWYG is a great feature and most web developers would agree that it is best to learn both WYSIWYG and traditional web authoring tools, such as notepad.

I have reviewed three web authoring tools for your viewing pleasure. Two of the tools are free and the third will require some cold hard cash. I suggest that you play around with the free web authoring tools and find the tool that works best for you, then if you are feeling feisty by all means purchase one!

1. KompoZer:

This free web authoring tool is like your first bike with training wheels. The interface is pretty straight forward, and you don’t have to be a serious programmer to jump right in as it works much like a word processor. KompoZer does have the WYSIWYG functionality and is plenty powerful enough to fit your needs to create a great looking site.

KompZer Download

2. Notepad++

This is like regular Notepad on some serious steroids, like the Incredible Hulk type steroids. Notepad++ is free and has many features that are useful, such as color coded syntax, code collapsing, macro recording, code searching, and auto code completion to name a few. Even if you end up installing another web authoring tool, I highly suggest you have Notepad++ in your arsenal.

Notepadd++ Download

3. Dreamweaver:

This IDE (Integrated Development Environment) is what I personally use in conjunction with Notepad++, the bad news is that this one will cost you a little coin. Adobe has done an outstanding job over the years with the Dreamweaver platform and it shows, because many professional Web Designers use DW.

Dreamweaver also has the WYSIWYG functionality along with so much more that it would take me forever to cover it all. Just know, that if you are serious about web development you can’t go wrong with Dreamweaver.