Free WYSIWYG Web Editors for Windows

Use these visual editors to create great-looking web pages

If you're not interested in learning to code, but you're ready to build a website, consider using one of these six free HTML WYSIWYG editors for Windows.

01
of 06

Best for Building Basic Websites: SeaMonkey

SeaMonkey WYSIWYG Home page

Lifewire

What We Like
  • Good for building basic websites.

  • Choice of WYSIWYG, HTML tags, and HTML code views.

What We Don't Like
  • Composer element no longer actively maintained.

  • Doesn't generate HTML5 code.

SeaMonkey is an all-in-one internet application suite that includes a web browser, advanced email, newsgroup and feed client, IRC chat, and HTML editing made simple. With SeaMonkey, you have a built-in browser, so testing is a breeze. Plus, it's a free WYSIWYG editor with embedded FTP capability to publish your web pages.

02
of 06

Best Open Source Option: Amaya

Amaya WYSIWYG home page

Lifewire

 

What We Like
  • Create and update directly on the web.

  • Supports HTML 4, XHTML 1, SVG, MathML, and CSS.

  • Open source software for Mac, Windows, and Linux.

What We Don't Like
  • Does not support HTML5.

  • No longer in development. Last version released in 2012.

Amaya is a web editor that also acts as a web browser. It validates the HTML as you build your page and, because you can see the tree structure of your web documents, it can be useful for understanding the document object model (DOM) and how your documents look in the document tree. Amaya has many features that most web designers won’t ever use but, if you’re worried about standards and you want to be 100 percent sure your pages work with W3C standards, this is a great editor to use.

03
of 06

Best for Easy Learning: KompoZer

What We Like
  • No need to install anything on your hard drive.

  • Reminiscent of Dreamweaver.

  • Easy to learn.

What We Don't Like
  • Limited features compared with other WYSIWYG editors.

  • Lacks support for HTML5 and CSS3.

KompoZer is an easy-to-use WYSIWYG editor for nontechnical users who want a professional-looking website without needing to know HTML. It was previously based on the discontinued Nvu editor and is now based on the Mozilla platform. It includes built-in file management and FTP that help you easily send your pages to your web hosting provider.

04
of 06

Best for Two-Mode Editing: Trellian WebPage

Trellian WYSIWYG program

Lifewire

What We Like
  • Powerful for free software.

  • Offers two modes: WYSIWYG and Page Editor mode.

  • Handles image format conversions.

What We Don't Like
  • Page Editor features not particularly useful.

  • Freeware requires registration for a key.

Trellian WebPage is one of the few free web editors that offer both WYSIWYG functionality and image editing within the software. It allows you to use Photoshop plugins to customize it even more. The SEO toolkit is another great feature that can help you analyze your page and improve its ranking in search engine results.

05
of 06

Best Easy-to-Use Interface: XStandard Lite

XStandard WYSIWYG page

Lifewire

What We Like
  • Free for commercial and personal use.

  • Generates clean XHTML.

  • Interface is easy to use.

What We Don't Like
  • No spell checker.

  • Cannot use drag and drop.

  • Must "request" download and enter contact information.

XStandard is an HTML editor embedded in the webpage itself. It's not for everyone but, if you need to allow people who visit your sites the opportunity to edit HTML, and you need valid HTML and CSS, it's a good solution. The Lite version can be used commercially for free but doesn't include features like spell-checking, customization, and extensibility. XStandard is a good tool for web developers who include CMS so their clients can maintain sites themselves. The program runs in a browser as a plug-in and runs on a desktop in Visual Studio, Access, VB, and VC++.

06
of 06

Best for Beginners: Dynamic HTML Editor Free

Dynamic HTML Editor Free WYSIWYG support page

Lifewire

What We Like
  • No need to learn HTML.

  • Insert and draw elements with a mouse.

  • Easy for beginners to use.

What We Don't Like
  • Lite version does not include many advanced features.

  • User interface looks dated.

The free version of Dynamic HTML Editor is a few revisions back from the paid version, and it’s only free for nonprofits and personal use. If that's you and you don’t want to learn anything other than file transfers for getting your web pages to your host, then this program works fine. It has some graphics editing and the program makes it easy to drag and drop the elements around on the page.

Format
mla apa chicago
Your Citation
Kyrnin, Jennifer. "Free WYSIWYG Web Editors for Windows." ThoughtCo, Sep. 30, 2021, thoughtco.com/free-wysiwyg-web-editors-for-windows-3468162. Kyrnin, Jennifer. (2021, September 30). Free WYSIWYG Web Editors for Windows. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/free-wysiwyg-web-editors-for-windows-3468162 Kyrnin, Jennifer. "Free WYSIWYG Web Editors for Windows." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/free-wysiwyg-web-editors-for-windows-3468162 (accessed March 28, 2024).