subject: Web Development- Choosing Your Web Editor [print this page] In the process of designing and creating a web site, starting from writing the site's underlying code to inputting the text content and finally to managing the site's upkeep, tools are really necessary for the website development to make the life of the developer convenient and easier. Thus, a meticulous checking of what proper aid to use during web development will save you of from hassle in the future. One of the most important tools that needed meticulous attending is a web editor, as it helps web developers and designers during the development stage of the website.
A web Editor is a web development software application used to create and edit web pages. An example of this is the HTML web editor. Although the HTML markup of a web page can be written with any text editor, like notepad, specialized HTML web editors offer convenience and added functionality. With the purpose of helping the web developers to create web pages, web editors generate HTML coding for the layout of the Web pages based on user design.
And since Web Editors are essential in every stage of web development, how can we sure that what we are using is helping us to achieve the optimum qualification? Below are some tips in choosing the right web editor for you.
1. Free or paid?
There are a lot of open-source web editors on the Internet, which are usually free, and there are also web editors that require payment before you can use it. Usually, paid web editors have better features that made your invested money look worthy of the price. Some web developers purchase the web editor of their choice because of its exclusive features which are not available on the free ones. However, choosing between free or paid web editors will surely depend on the company's budget and the web developers' expertise in using it.
2. OS used
Some web editors can be used only in Windows OS, while others are created for Linux. Nevertheless, whatever Operating System you choose, rest assured that there is a compatible web editor for it.
3. Type of Editor
There are three (3) basic types of web editor. The first type is the web editor that allows web developers to directly edit the code of the web page by presenting its codes. There is no visual way of what the code is for. The second type is the WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) web editor that enables to edit the web page in a visual way without allowing the web developer to see the underlying codes that enables it to appear that way. The third type is a combination of the first and second type which allows to be toggled from the code to the visual look of the web page.
4. Color Coding and Tag Completion
Color Coding is an essential feature in choosing a web editor. This is very helpful especially in analyzing the codes and debugging it. HTML codes are of the same color, PHP codes are of the same color too, as well as in CSS codes. This will be a great help in recognizing the codes generated by the web editors, which can be very helpful especially for beginners. Tag Completion saves you from errors due to overlooked end tag. With this, errors can be avoided and it will save you from minutes or even hours of debugging.
5. Ability to connect to database
This is especially critical depending on the website being created. Is the website to be created static or dynamic? If it is static, then you do not need to look for a web editor to connect to a database. However, if it is dynamic, a web editor with this feature will come in handy and save you from the stress of database conflicts.
6. Support for other languages like PHP, ASP, etc.
It is a plus point if the web editor supports other languages to maximize its feature and usability. So if you want to use a web editor, make sure that it supports other programming languages too.
These are not the only features to be checked when looking for an HTML web editor. What did I miss? Feel free to add in the comments.
