While it may be tempting to rush into a WYSIWYG editor (What You See Is What You Get), most good site designers recommend learning and coding HTML manually. When creating your web site, we recommend using an HTML Editor. This is a program that functions a bit like a word processor for building web sites. All the information you wish to appear on your web site can be entered into the HTML Editor along with the HTML codes that will instruct a browser how to interpret and display the information. The HTML Editors are specially designed to make the coding process as easy for you as possible, but still require you to have a basic comprehension of HTML coding. Although working with computer codes may sound intimidating to some, we assure you that it's really quite easy. Anyone who has a few hours to spare can learn the basic codes from our HTML Tutorial. We think you can even get through our Mouseover Tutorial in no time!

HTML Editors are not the only way to go. Those who want an even easier way of programming web sites can use a WYSIWYG Editor. Whereas HTML Editors help you write the code as easily as possible, the WYSIWYG Editors do all the coding work for you. Therefore, when you use one of those editors, you never learn how to work with the code itself. If the site isn't doing what you want it to do and you don't actually know HTML, you will find it difficult to go into the code and make the proper adjustments. Additionally, WYSIWYG editors are notorious for adding "extra" coding, so that even if you are slightly familiar with HTML, it will be very difficult to troubleshoot any problems. Also, WYSIWYG Editors tend to be limited in what they can do, unlike HTML Editors which have much broader capabilities.

The most popular HTML Editor on the internet, and one which we like a lot, is Coffee Cup. Coffee Cup is an extremely powerful program which allows you to see the changes to your web page as you create it, by utilizing their split screen mode. Coffee Cup also comes with a built in FTP Program for uploading your site to the internet, a complete spell check and thesaurus, and a function which allows you to easily flip back and forth between different pages on your site. Coffee Cup will also allow you to use the software for a free trial period if you so choose, and Coffee Cup also comes in a Linux version. Coffee Cup now has oodles and boodles of software available, and they offer special bundle prices. So go on over to their site now by clicking on a Coffee Cup text link or mini banner now to check out all the great stuff they have:

Click on the thumbnail to see a screenshot:

Another favorite of ours is 40tude HTML. 40tude also has a built in FTP program for uploading files to the internet, spell check, HTML check, link checker, and instant ability to view your page in any of three browsers you may have on your system. The feature which seems to set 40tude apart from others is a multiple page function in saving, closing, and checking or searching. For example, say you want to change the text color on 30 pages of your project. First, 40tude also allows you to assign project files, so you can open all the 30 files with a click, and then do a search and replace in all files. Additionally, search files and replace in files within a whole directory without having to open them. Very handy for managing large site projects. (The webmistress of this site used 40tude for years before upgrading to Dreamweaver.) Click on the thumbnail to see a screenshot:

If you're looking for a free HTML Editor, our favorite is NoteTab Light. NoteTab Light doesn't come with as many features as Coffee Cup, but it is a good, basic HTML Editor. The Pro version, if you register, is great. Comes with lots of extras like color coding, thesaurus, multilingual dictionary and more. All for the price of $19.95! The owner of this site uses NoteTab Pro. Click on the thumbnail to see a screenshot:

For those who want a WYSIWYG Editor, Coffee Cup also makes one of those called HTML Express. See a screen shot to get an idea. Yeah, yeah, we don't recommend WYSIWYG, but if you are set and determined to do it, go check them out before you pay mega bucks for FrontPage or DreamWeaver.

Dreamweaver is probably the best of the high end web page production programs. You can use it in a purely coding view, or purely WYSIWYG, or a lovely split screen which is very useful. The split screen is trained so well, that it will even insert your server side includes in the view! There is a learning curve with Dreamweaver, so best be prepared to take the time to learn it. Once you do, you'll find a ton of labor saving functions that quickly pay for themselves. We recommend Dreamweaver if you're planning on doing professional design work.

• Dreamweaver
• Coffee Cup
• Coffee Cup's HTML Express
• NoteTab Light and NoteTab Pro