Not everyone is very comfortable with the idea of coding a website manually
. It is very easy to make an error and sometimes it is possible for the webpage to not look right on certain browser configurations. Finding the source of the problem can be a real pain even if you have some experience on how to make a website. It is much better if you find a web page designer application so there is less hassle in making a decent web page and you can focus more on customizing the page and adding the necessary content. Regarding applications, there are plenty of web page designer programs to choose from and some are better suited for beginners. Since there are so many programs to list, this guide will give you some tips on the features to look for.
Good Interface
If you want to design a website very quickly, the program interface should be your main focus. Fortunately, you can tell how easy a program or online tool is just by checking screenshots and video walkthroughs. But the perfect interface really depends on what you need to do. For instance a minimal drag-and-drop interface would be good for beginners that want to have a basic site very quickly. Other beginners might be contented with a step-by-step walkthrough that lets them choose and customize a template to their liking. Experienced web developers that are not very comfortable with pure coding may want an interface where all the common tools are a click away.
Split Code and WYSIWYG Views
Many desktop applications allow you to view the web page in a special mode called "WYSIWYG" or "What You See Is What You Get". Basically, whatever text and other elements you place on the canvas should reflect the actual look on your browser. But in order to do some fine tuning to the page, you may have to switch back to code view. The program excels if there is a third view that lets you see both the source code and WYSIWYG view on a split screen so you can see exactly how the HTML changes will affect the look of your page.
Syntax Highlighting and Code Autocomplete
Those that are used to raw coding can often make the best webpages. But it never hurts to give these developers a helping hand by allowing them to do the work faster. This is where syntax highlighting and code autocomplete can be helpful. The highlighting feature can make the source code much easier to look at so you can detect some errors like missing tags or any typographical errors. The code autocomplete feature allows you the program to show a list of tags that you want to use the moment you start trying to create one.
Finally, you should make sure that the program is still in active development so can access future versions as web technologies continue to develop.