WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editors are HTML editors that attempt to display the Web page as it will show on the browser. They are visual editors, and you don't manipulate the code directly. Some HTML WYSIWYG editors also include a text editor, while others are purely WYSIWYG. This is my list of the best HTML WYSIWYG editors for Macintosh.
1. Adobe Dreamweaver
Image courtesy Adobe
Dreamweaver is one of the most popular professional Web development software packages available. It offers power and flexibility to create pages that meet your needs. I use it for everything from JSP, XHTML, PHP, and XML development. It is a good choice for professional Web designers and developers, but if you're working as a solitary freelancer, you might want to look at one of the CS suites like Web or Design to get graphics editing capability as well.
2. Adobe Creative Suite
Image courtesy Adobe
Adobe released Creative Suite 4 in several different combinations. While you can still buy each product separately, buying a bundle might save you money. But how do you decide between the different versions which one is best for you? I believe that any of these four editions would work for most Web designers: Web Standard, Design Premium, Web Premium, or the Master Collection. But you should buy the edition that works best for your needs.
3. KompoZer
Screen shot by J Kyrnin
KompoZer is a good WYSIWYG editor. It is based on the popular Nvu editor - only it is called an "unofficial bug-fix release." KompoZer was conceived by some people who really liked Nvu, but were fed up with the slow release schedules and poor support. So they took it over and released a less buggy version of the software. Ironically, there hasn't been a new release of KompoZer in over a year.
4. Nvu
Screen shot by J Kyrnin
Nvu is a good WYSIWYG editor. I prefer text editors to WYSIWYG editors, but if you don't, then Nvu is a great choice, especially considering that it's free. I love that it has a site manager to allow you to review the sites that you're building. It's surprising that this software is free. Feature highlights: XML support, advanced CSS support, full site management, built-in validator, and international support as well as WYSIWYG and color coded XHTML editing.
5. SeaMonkey
Screen shot by J Kyrnin
SeaMonkey is the Mozilla project all-in-one Internet application suite. It includes a Web browser, email and newsgroup client, IRC chat client, and composer - the Web page editor. One of the nice things about using SeaMonkey is that you have the browser built-in already so testing is a breeze. Plus it's a free WYSIWYG editor with an embedded FTP to publish your Web pages.
6. Good Page
Screen shot by J Kyrnin
Good Page offers a lot of the features of a great text editor while also providing some WYSIWYG support. I like the structure views of the document - this makes it easier to see the DOM for JavaScript development. Another cool thing is the CSS editor, which includes the specificity right on the property. If you've ever fought with a very complex style sheet you'll recognize the value of that.
7. Amaya
Screen shot by J Kyrnin
Amaya is the W3C Web editor. It also acts as a Web browser. It validates the HTML as you build your page, and since you can see the tree structure of your Web documents, it can be very useful for learning to understand the DOM and how your documents look in the document tree. It has a lot of features that most Web designers won't ever use, but if you're worried about standards and you want to be 100% sure that your pages work with the W3C standards, this is a great editor to use.
8. Style Master
Screen shot by J Kyrnin
Style Master takes a different approach to Web page design. Instead of focusing on the HTML, it focuses on the CSS - so that you can work on the design of your sites in an intuitive way. I've found that many Web sites have much more complicated CSS than HTML code, so this is a great program to use to untangle the mess.
9. EditLive!
Screen shot by J Kyrnin
EditLive! is WYSIWYG HTML editor that companies can use to embed in Web applications such as CMS. It offers the ability to edit both in WYSIWYG mode and in HTML mode. One of the things I liked was that it has a built-in accessibility analyzer. This makes it easy to write accessible pages. But if it had an HTML validator I couldn't find one. This is a great tool for Web designers who include a CMS or Wiki in their deliveries as then clients can maintain the pages themselves after they are built.
10. eWebEditPro
Screen shot by J Kyrnin
eWebEditPro is an online, browser-based Web editor for businesses. The idea behind this editor is that it offers WYSIWYG editing capability wherever you are. You just pull up a browser, go to the page that needs editing and login to the editor to edit it. It provides CMS-like capability to a corporate website.
What is your favorite HTML editor? Write a review!
Do you have a Web editor that you absolutely love or positively hate? Write a review of your HTML editor and let others know which editor you think is the best.
