• Visual HTML editor.  The best free HTML editors

    This article presents some of the most functional CSS code editors for front-end developers. With features like syntax highlighting, live viewing, debugging, and collaborative editing, these services can be a great choice for web development right in your browser window.

    Online code editors

    1. CodePen

    It offers support for HTML, CSS and JavaScript and a huge number of preprocessors. Haml, Markdown, Slim and Jade are supported, as HTML preprocessors. For CSS, Less, SCSS, Sass and Stylus are supported. For JavaScript, CoffeeScript, TypeScript, LiveScript and Babel are supported.

    Additionally, there is a huge community of developers using CodePen. This makes it easy to find demos and examples created by experienced developers.

    CodePen Pro supports a collaborative mode that allows you to complete code in real time. There's also Professor Mode, which allows a group of students to follow you as you explain code, and you can chat with them.

    2. JSFiddle


    Another popular one online CSS editor. It's been used successfully by developers for quite some time, and was the first before CodePen came along. JSFiddle is an easy-to-use online code editor with free collaborative editing, text and voice chat. You don't even need to register to use the feature collaboration.

    JSFiddle also supports SCSS and CoffeeScript. JSFiddle makes it quite easy to collaborate on code or host demos.

    3. Liveweave


    This is an online CSS editor with the function preview in real time. Liveweave contains built-in context-sensitive HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, and JQuery code hints. It also allows you to download your project as an archive, which is very convenient.

    Liveweave makes it quite easy to connect external libraries such as JQuery, AndgularJS, Bootstrap, etc. to your projects. It also has a ruler tool that helps in developing responsive web design. Liveweave offers the " Team Up", which provides the same functionality as the co-editing mode in JSFiddle.

    4. Plunker


    This is an online community (as well as CodePen) to code, collaborate, and share web development ideas. The service is an open source online editor licensed under the MIT license. Plunker Source Code can be found on GitHub.

    Editor CSS styles online allows you to add to work area multiple files, and also provides community-created templates that users can use to quick launch project.

    5. JS Bin


    Cloud environment for collaboration with JavaScript code. It includes support for a range of preprocessors such as SCSS, Less, CoffeeScript, Jade and others. A console is also available for debugging and checking code, which functions like a console in Google Chrome or Firefox.

    JS Bin also supports interactive recording and broadcasting of code creation to any number of participants. This mode is available free of charge for registered and anonymous users.

    6. CSS Deck


    This CSS editor is a bit simpler compared to other tools. In addition to the basic functions, it includes a comment function. Sharing and embedding demos is also supported in CSS Deck.

    7. codetest


    kodtest is convenient when you need to check how code works on screens various sizes. This online tool allows you to quickly switch between multiple presets. given dimensions screen.

    Demonstration of online code editors

    Below is a demo I created on CodePen. You can switch tabs to view HTML, CSS, and JS code. Or experiment by moving the shapes on the “Result” tab.

    View demo

    Conclusion

    Online CSS editors can be used for various purposes. For example, if you need to work together on projects or show a demo version to a client.

    Web-based code editors are also great for educational purposes, as they require no installation and are accessible from all types of devices.

    If you are a developer, write in the comments about your favorite online code editor.

    Translation of the article " 7 Free Online Code Editors for Front-End Web Development» was prepared by the friendly team of the Website Building from A to Z project.

    Almost every Internet user has ever thought about creating their own website, but not everyone has the time and ability to master at least the basics of web programming and layout. But, in most cases, there is no need to develop complex programmable elements, and you can create a beautiful and functional website using visual editor websites or WYSIWYG editor.

    Such programs, despite the relative ease of use, are far from amateur development tools, but their ability to work with a user with any level of experience is precisely their feature.

    WYSIWYG is an acronym for the English words What You See Is What You Get, which translates as “what you see is what you get.” That is, we are talking about a development environment in which the user, as he works, can immediately see the approximate result of his efforts. Most often in Runet, the Russian-language analogue of the mentioned abbreviation is used, and programs of this type are called visual editors. Using such applications, you can create code in different languages programming and layout - HTML, CSS, PHP, etc.

    The most popular WYSIWYG editor for HTML and other web development languages ​​is Adobe Dreamveawer. It's really different user-friendly interface, a large number available tools, support for current technologies and integration with other Creative Suite applications. A big advantage of Adobe Dreamveawer is the availability of detailed professional documentation, as well as many free lessons on working with the program, which can be found on the Internet. In addition, it can work with common CMS engines such as Joomla, WordPress and Drupal. The current version is CS6.

    Another popular visual editor is WYSIWYG Web Builder, which was recently updated to version 9. It is a powerful solution that allows you to create high-quality websites without any coding or web programming skills. The program allows you to create both simple business card sites or multi-page resources with complex scenarios and insertion of interactive elements. The set includes several various templates, and you can add new ones as you work. IN latest version WYSIWYG Web Builder has a ribbon interface, new features for working with CSS3 and more than a hundred other improvements have been added.

    In addition to commercial solutions, there are also good open-source solutions. For example, the free visual editor BlueGriffon, created on the Gecko engine, which also powers the world famous Mozilla browser Firefox.

    It's modern and reliable solution for editing web pages and creating sites that comply with the latest Web standards. BlueGriffon is a multilingual visual editor for HTML, PHP, CSS and other web development languages, which has an intuitive, user-friendly interface, and the document edited in it will look exactly the same as in the Firefox browser.

    The WYSIWYG editor is truly convenient tool for editing web pages and creating full-fledged websites of varying levels of complexity. With this, the user can create attractive websites without the need for extensive technical knowledge.

    There are many ways to create your own website - from using ready-made templates on Narod.ru to applying for an ad like “website creation in two days from 300 rubles.” Create your own own blog Even a child can use a simple home page. That is why almost everyone can boast of having their own website on the Internet. Various services make website builders available to anyone who wants them, which can create a simple personal page user. There are hundreds and hundreds of thousands of such pages on the Internet. As a rule, they are similar to each other and are not remembered. For those who use free online tools to create a personal Internet page, owning a website is most often a joke; people create a page and forget about it. The content on it in most cases boils down to publishing photographs of your dog and a few information “about yourself”.

    It’s another matter if a person perceives his own website as a method of communication, such as telephone or mail. Having your own website is useful for any entrepreneur who wants to present his business, a practicing doctor, a lawyer opening his own consultation, a training center, etc. In this case, the page must be original and meaningful, carry useful information for visitors. To get a website that meets these requirements, you can’t get by with free home page generators alone. However, mastering the basics of web programming can take a long time. You can, of course, hire a professional who will make any page according to your wishes, but this option has a very obvious drawback, so for many it is unacceptable.

    Visual web editors - good way save time on learning web programming and quickly create a website, filling it with everything necessary information. On the one hand, to create a web project using such a program you do not need to have special knowledge or be a programmer. On the other hand, these types of applications allow room for creativity and ensure that the site does not look exactly the same as thousands of others. The work of visual web editors is based on the WYSIWYG property - What You See Is What You Get (what you see is what you get). In other words, during the editing process, web pages look approximately the same as they will be displayed in a browser.

    ⇡ WYSIWYG Web Builder 7.1.0

    • developer: Pablo Software Solutions
    • distribution size: 5.5 MB
    • distribution: shareware
    • Russian interface: no

    Web pages created using WYSIWYG Web Builder and other visual editors consist of separate blocks. This can be text, graphics, flash videos, etc. All the user has to do is select required blocks and place them in suitable places on the page, and the code will be generated automatically by the program.

    If you have no experience in web design, you should start creating your first project in the program with a ready-made template. By default, WYSIWYG Web Builder has about ten templates of different types, and several dozen more can be downloaded for free from the program’s official website. After downloading the template, you will be able to edit any element of it.

    To do this, you can use numerous tools located on the vertical panel. For convenience, they are divided into categories: navigation (site tree, navigation menu), drawing (line, curve, polygon), multimedia tools (Flash player, YouTube player, Java, OLE object), tools for working with web forms ( field for inserting a CAPTCHA code, checkbox, button for downloading a file, field for entering text), Paypal ( various buttons to work with this electronic payment system), etc. If you do not need any category of tools in your work, you can minimize it to free up space on the screen for more popular tools.

    It is worth paying attention to the Extra category. It contains tools for creating a photo gallery, adding a subscription to news in RSS format, slide shows, and searching the site. Here you can find a whole collection of ready-made elements Javascript code. This and various visual effects, and such useful tools as defining current version browser, displaying information about the time the web page was last modified, placing a link to bookmark the page.

    Despite the fact that when working in WYSIWYG Web Builder the user sees ready-made page elements, in the browser the site may still look a little different than in the editor’s working window. For quick view appearance of the page in the browser, just press the F5 key. WYSIWYG Web Builder will open the project in the system's default browser. If you need to view pages in several browsers at once, you can add them to the list.

    Typically, a website template consists of several pages. For convenient control project, the program window has a special Site Manager panel, which displays a tree of site pages. Using the tools of this panel, you can create new pages based on templates, add pages previously saved on your hard drive, copy existing pages, view their properties, etc.

    When working on a resource consisting of a large number of pages, program tools such as checking links for functionality, estimating page size, and a site map generator in the form of an XML file that will be placed in the root directory of the site may also be useful. In addition, WYSIWYG Web Builder can help you collect all the images and other media files that are used on web pages in one place.

    Despite the fact that WYSIWYG Web Builder itself is a fairly functional editor, you may not find any tools in it. In this case, it’s worth taking a look at the extensions gallery - maybe the right remedy available as a plugin. There are more than 250 extensions for the program, and their number is constantly growing. Extensions are written by active users of the editor and posted on official forum. It is worth keeping in mind that you cannot connect extensions to the trial version of WYSIWYG Web Builder; for this you need to register the program.

    ⇡ Web Page Maker 3.21

    • developer: www.webpage-maker.com
    • distribution size: 3.66 MB
    • distribution: shareware
    • Russian interface: no

    Web Page Maker is a fairly simple visual editor that is suitable for creating a small website that includes several pages. With its help, you can add text, vector elements, graphic files, videos to the page. different formats, tables, web forms and other familiar page elements.

    The program also has ready-made options for this important element any site, like a navigation menu. Web Page Maker contains various menu options. Having selected the appropriate one, you can immediately edit it by specifying the orientation (horizontal or vertical), the distance between elements, text and link parameters.

    Some elements (for example, the same navigation menu) should be located on all pages of the site. When editing any block, you can quickly place it on all pages of the current project or specify those pages where it should be present.

    The main part of the program window is occupied by the work area, and on the right is the Site Contents panel. Using this panel, it is convenient to manage site pages, as well as individual page elements. The Elements tab displays all the blocks on the page, and when you click on each one, you can immediately see where it is located. In addition, you can immediately call up the properties window for each element or delete unnecessary blocks. As for the set of tools for creating a site structure, it is worth noting the possibility of creating new page based on an existing resource on the Internet. You just need to specify its address, and Web Page Maker will load the page, break it into blocks and make them available for editing.

    To make your site more lively, you can use animation effects. Examples of ready-made Javascript code can be found in the Web Page Maker library. Using them, you can change the window scroll color, place a clock in the corner of the screen showing the current time, add a slide show, etc.

    When work on the site is completed, the project can be saved to your hard drive or immediately uploaded to an FTP server. Moreover, additional client You don't need it for this - Web Page Maker has built-in tools for working with FTP.

    ⇡ CoffeeCup Visual Site Designer 6.06

    • developer: CoffeeCup Software
    • distribution size: 17.6 MB
    • distribution: shareware
    • Russian interface: no

    The developers of CoffeeCup Visual Site Designer are probably guided in life by the slogan “make money on everything you can make money on.” Therefore, you need to keep in mind that if you buy this visual editor for $49, you will not get all the features that you can expect from purchasing most other similar programs.

    Thus, the program comes with ten templates, and to download the rest you are asked to go to the developer’s website. When you open the appropriate page, you will find that additional templates are paid and sold for $9 each. Similar “surprises” await the user while working with the application. Click the web form builder tool and you'll find that you have to pay another $39 to use it; try adding a photo gallery to your site and you'll see that that feature comes at an additional cost, too.

    The standard version of the program allows you to work with text, vector elements, and graphics. After selecting a tool, a floating palette with its settings appears on the vertical panel. It remains on the screen until the user changes tools. Thanks to this approach, the maximum amount of space is allocated to the work area.

    Common elements of web pages, such as counters and web forms, can only be created in the program using a tool for inserting custom HTML code.

    When working with vector elements (arrows, polygons, stars, callouts, etc.), you can use numerous tools to change their appearance. For example, it is possible to change transparency, add a shadow, make an object three-dimensional, make it glow, or change shapes when hovering the mouse cursor. In addition, you can adjust the fill of each object and add texture.

    CoffeeCup Visual Site Designer has a built-in FTP client with which you can upload a site to a remote server. If, after loading the site, you decide to make changes to some of its pages, you can use the data synchronization function. In this case, the program will load those pages that have been changed. If necessary, without leaving CoffeeCup Visual Site Designer, you can even completely delete the site from the server.

    ⇡ WebSite X5 Evolution 8

    • developer: Incomedia
    • distribution size: 15.3 MB
    • distribution: shareware
    • Russian interface: yes

    Most visual editors are similar to each other. This has its advantages, because once you understand one of these programs, you will already feel confident if you decide to try another later. However, if you have never created websites before, even the simplest visual editor can initially raise many questions, such as: “what should you do first?”, “which program tools are the main ones and which are auxiliary?” etc.

    The WebSite X5 Evolution program implements a slightly different approach to creating a website, thanks to which many questions disappear by themselves. The application is built on the principle of a step-by-step wizard, so a novice user can be sure that he has not missed anything important.

    Despite the fact that the wizard guides you through all stages of creating a project, the user can, if desired, “jump” through some stages by selecting side menu those actions that he wants to perform at the moment. There are five stages in total.

    The first one indicates general settings. So, here you enter the name of the site, author and language, select keywords, Favicon is loaded, menu type is selected (horizontal or vertical), a suitable template is selected (there are more than a hundred design options in the program library), set appearance the top and bottom of the site pages.

    At the second stage, it is proposed to create a site map, that is, think through its structure. Using the "copy" and "paste" buttons on the toolbar, you can create new pages based on existing ones. Here you can determine which resource pages will be hidden and specify the update frequency for each page.

    Double clicking on the page title will take you to next stage work on the site, and then you can start working directly on its content. By default, the page is divided into four blocks, into each of which you can add an object: text, graphic file, slide show, table, flash animation, multimedia file, etc. If desired, the number of blocks on the page can be increased or decreased. Having placed an object on the page, you need to define its settings, for example, specify the path to graphic file, type text, etc. All these operations will need to be done for each page.

    At the fourth stage, WebSite X5 Evolution will ask you to specify some additional settings, for example, determine the appearance of the introductory page, set parameters for displaying flash advertising, add a blog and an RSS news feed to the site.

    Among the offered features there is also such an element as “E-commerce shopping cart”. Using it, you can quickly create your own online store. By going to its settings, you can quickly create product categories, define delivery terms, select payment options, insert a license agreement, and customize the appearance of store elements.

    Finally, the last step is to export the project. The finished site can be saved to hard drive or directly upload to an FTP server. In addition, the program allows you to save project files in order to transfer them to another computer. Note that the created project can be saved at any stage in own format programs.

    Perhaps the only inconvenience when working with WebSite X5 Evolution is the inability to preview pages in the browser. If you want to see what the site will look like, you can use the Test function, but it takes some time to generate the project. In addition, the program generates pages in its own viewer, created on the Internet Explorer engine.

    ⇡ KompoZer 0.7.10

    • developer: Fabien Cazenave
    • distribution size: 7.9 MB
    • distribution: free
    • Russian interface: yes

    KompoZer is a free visual web editor with open source. The program is available not only for Windows, but also for Mac, as well as for Linux. The editor is created on the Gecko engine, which runs the well-known Firefox browser. This provides a number of advantages: firstly, the engine perfectly supports modern web standards such as XML, CSS and JavaScript. Secondly, the Gecko-based editor can be extended with plugins.

    Perhaps the first add-on you want to install will be a localization package for Russian. It is installed in much the same way as plugins for Firefox are installed: in the Tools menu, you need to select the Extensions command, and then specify the path to the downloaded localization file with the .xpi extension. After installing the plugin, you will need to restart the program, after which the interface will become Russian.

    An FTP client is integrated into the program, and it can be used not only to download a finished project, but also to quickly edit pages of a site already hosted on the server. By specifying your server login information, you can navigate the directory tree and select pages to edit. Their contents will be loaded in the KompoZer window, and they can be edited on the fly.

    KompoZer makes it possible to work with several pages simultaneously. Each of them opens in a separate tab, between which you can quickly switch. Each page has its own history of canceling and returning actions. By looking at the icon in the tab header, you can immediately determine if changes have been made to the content of the page that have not yet been saved.

    Although KompoZer automatically generates the code for web pages, you can review it and make some changes if necessary. At the bottom of each page there are tabs that allow you to switch between visually displaying the page and showing code.

    By default, the most frequently used tools are displayed on the program toolbar: adding a hyperlink, inserting an image, tables, tools for creating web forms, etc. If you wish, you can change the appearance of this panel (for example, by making the icons smaller), and also add some other tools to it.

    In general, despite the fact that KompoZer is a visual web editor, it is designed for users who already have some experience in creating websites. You will not find ready-made templates and examples of navigation menus in it, but a powerful CSS editor is integrated into the program, there are tools for checking HTML code and for spell checking.

    ⇡ BestAddress HTML Editor 17

    • developer: Multimedia Australia
    • distribution size: 7.1 MB
    • distribution: shareware
    • Russian interface: no

    When a user decides to explore an area, e.g. computer graphics, video editing or programming, he often asks his more experienced comrades a question - which program is better to start learning a new craft with. In some cases, it is indeed better to use simple tools, and then, having understood their capabilities, move on to more advanced editors. As for BestAddress HTML Editor 2010 Professional, we can say that this program has every chance of becoming the first and the last tool for a beginner web developer.

    Working in the visual construction mode of a web page is reminiscent of working with a designer - you can independently set the sizes and colors of elements, place buttons, graphics, menus and other website components at your discretion. Convenient formatting, almost like a text editor, can be used to control the position of any page elements. You will not find templates in BestAddress HTML Editor 2010 Professional, but you can download a web page located at specified address. Once you open the page in the program, you can then edit it.

    The editor can automatically upload a project to the server - for this, the program uses the Digital FTP Access FTP client that comes with it.

    BestAddress HTML Editor 2010 Professional also includes professional tools for writing code. Beginners who want to understand the operating principles and writing HTML, CSS, Java and PHP code, can refer to the documentation. It outlines the most important rules for writing code, such as the purpose of tags, examples of simple operations, etc. Simple and understandable lessons give a brief idea of ​​the structure of HTML and bring the beginner up to speed.

    ⇡ Conclusion

    The programs discussed in this review allow you to quickly create your own website and place it on the Internet. It should be remembered that all these applications are just tools in the hands of the user. Whether the site will attract the attention of visitors, whether it will become an additional component of business success, depends solely on the imagination of the author and on his desire to improve what he has started. And, of course, in order for the site to live up to your expectations, your endeavor must be successful, which is what we wish for everyone!

    The main purpose of our HTML editor is to simplify the generation of page code by specialists when developing resources or filling them with content. This editor significantly speeds up this process and makes it possible to preview and immediately visually see the result.

    Why do IT people use an HTML editor?

    As is known, without using hypertext language no one can do without website markup modern resource, and the length of the code for one page can reach several thousand lines. In the classic version in the best possible way writing markup code is a regular notepad. It is presented to the user in its pure form, where the main tags must be entered by hand. This requires an enormous amount of time, and the risk of making a purely mechanical typo cannot be ruled out. As a life hack, to make their work easier, web developers actively use an HTML editor, which already provides the ability to automatically edit elements, but the main thing is that you can enter characters not manually, but using already written program codes for these purposes.

    The practical HTML code editor is simple enough for potential users to master and can easily offer an optimal solution to the issue of web page layout even for an inexperienced user.

    The benefits of an HTML editor are maximum!

    • Allows you to correctly enter the encoding of elements without fear of missing a required character, closing parentheses, or making a typo or mistake. You just need to find the required element on the tools page, click on it - and all the data will be promptly registered, you don’t even have to check the contents.
    • The speed of writing code increases significantly due to the fact that semi-automatic software is used; the user can count on obtaining quite high savings in time for performing specific actions. Consequently, the code is compiled much faster.
    • Available online without pre-installation on PC. The editor will allow you to work without problems anywhere in the world, ensure that data is saved in automatic mode, guarantees maximum convenience to the performer.
    • Free of charge will significantly save time and money for a potential client, give him unlimited scope for activity and will not allow him to make many mistakes in his work. There will be no need to pay large sums for using the software.

    What is noteworthy is that many professional experts recommend studying with such editors. Well, for already established resource developers, such a proposal will be a worthy alternative to painstaking manual typing, an opportunity to do everything quickly and practically.

    When creating a website, you need to go through several stages: design, creating page layouts, filling it with content, maintaining the site and software base. Web design or visual design of pages is one of the stages of website development, similar to layout in printed publications. In the process, the site structure, navigation, etc. are designed, that is, the goal of web design is not only visual perception, but also convenience for users.

    Programs used by web designers for layout are called HTML editors. There are two types of such editors:

    • Visual, working on the principle “You get what you see” - WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get). When working with WYSIWYG, the final result will look the same as it did during the editing process.
    • Non-visual (text). The code for such editors needs to be written independently, so these tools are mainly used by professional web designers, disabling the “default” option.

    Editors have also been developed that combine both operating principles. Choosing the best HTML editor is difficult - some sell well, others are developed by leading companies, others are used by professional web designers, others are affordable, etc. Quality programs There are many, they differ in functionality and require different levels of training.

    Which editor is better

    Supporters of text editors are confident that code can only be created manually, and software markup is better than visual markup. Websites that are created using ready-made templates, indeed, are of the same type, but they have a right to exist and many are quite satisfied. When you need a simple “test” website or two pages of a personal website, the WYSIWYG option is ideal.

    Professionals do not need ready-made layouts and tips, just as a high-class fashion designer does not need patterns and patterns, and a translator does not need a dictionary. For those who want to open their website without thorough learning HTML, text editors are not needed, and visual editors are too primitive for a web designer.

    What are the benefits of WYSIWYG editors?

    Visual designers or visual HTML editors online is an indispensable tool that allows you to insert elements and objects into the text in their original form. Creating a page containing text, tables and pictures with HTML code can be created by specialists, and the visual editor eliminates the need to create code. The webmaster receives a page with text in finished form. In this sense, WYSIWYG resembles text editor Microsoft Word.

    The toolbar has everything you need for typing and editing: buttons for the clipboard, printing, fonts and text design, inserting tables, images, forms and much more. To receive source code HTML you just need to click on a button, after which the code can be edited, copied and transferred to the site. The WYSIWYG editor will allow you to short time get good results and display pages on a web resource.

    The visual editor can be combined with tags from text HTML- this significantly simplifies the work of web designers.

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