Before I give an editor a final score, I take one more look at the software to see if it has something extra special in it, some feature I haven't thought of yet or something useful that no other editor has. If it does, I may give it extra points. Some things that some editors have gotten extra points for include:
- version control
- captcha's for forms
- favicon creation
- DOM inspector
I may, in the future, add some or all of these to my feature list, but for now, they aren't a requirement for my perfect editor, just something extra special.
Pricing Web Editors
Many people feel that price should be the first and only consideration when choosing a Web editor. But even if you only look at the free Web editors, there are still nearly 60 editors to choose from that I've evaluated. And there are probably another 60 out there that I haven't. So, while price may be important, features are what makes the difference in the perfect Web editor.
When I score the Web editors, I take the price into account. Editors that are free get another 10 points. Editors that cost between $50 and $0.01 lose 10 points. Between $51 and 100 they lose 20 points. Between $101 and $500 they lose 30 points. Between $501 and $1000, they lose 40 points. Between $1001 and $2000, they lose 50 points. And editors that cost more than $2000 lose 60 points. Only three editors lose 60 points:
Giving the Final Star Rating
Not including the extra points an editor might get, there are a possible 665 points on my evaluation structure. First I tally up the total score. I then add in the extra points and adjust for the price. This final score is compared against the possible 665 to get a percentage.
I grade on a curve. Since none of the editors got 100% of my feature set, I assign my star ratings based on the following curve:
- 90% and up get 5 stars out of 5
- 70% - 89% get 4 stars out of 5
- 30% - 69% get 3 stars out of 5 - this is where the majority of the editors land
- 10% - 29% get 2 stars out of 5
- Below 10% get 1 star out of 5
Out of over 130 editors I evaluated this year, only 3 got 5 stars:
- Dreamweaver with the top score of 611.5 or 92%.
- Creative Suite Web Standard with a score of 601.5 or 90%
- Expression Web with a score of 597.5 or 90%
Out of those same editors, only one got a score of 1 star:
- HotDog Junior with a score of 57 or 9%
Still No Perfect Editor
I still haven't found the absolutely perfect editor, but there are some that come close. I look forward to seeing the changes next year - and maybe my quest will be fulfilled then.
