Web Design with HTML and CSS

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Web editors versus WYSIWYG tools

Web Design with HTML and CSS Digital Classroom

WYSIWYG editors

The concept behind WYSIWYG web editors is that you create web pages in design view and

the program writes the HTML and CSS code behind-the-scenes. These tools claim to provide

a visual way to create web pages without needing to understand HTML or CSS code. To

eff ectively use any web design tool, you still need an understanding of HTML and CSS, and

these design tools all include methods for working with code. Editing code is often required

when using WYSIWYG editors, despite their visual layout capabilities and marketing claims.

If you are just starting out as a web designer, it’s useful to know that many web professionals

perceive WYSIWYG tools as inappropriate for professional use. While this sentiment is

not universal, there is a large population of web designers and developers that dislike all

WYSIWYG editors because they do not always produce the best code for a situation.

WYSIWYG applications generally cost more than text editors, and the time required to

learn many WYSIWYG applications can be as much as learning HTML and CSS code.

Despite the higher cost and time to learn, the use of WYSIWYG editors is widespread.

Additionally, they can speed your design work with some projects.

Most popular WYSIWYG editors also include features to help you code your pages when

entering code. These include capabilities similar to text editors, such as code completion,

code coloring, and automation. Two of the most popular WYSIWYG editors are Adobe

Dreamweaver and Microsoft Expression Web. Both applications have similar capabilities.

Dreamweaver is available on both the Mac OS and Windows platforms while Expression Web

is only available for Windows computers. Expression Web is available at no cost if you are a

student, see the note about the Microsoft Dreamspark program, and has a suggested retail

price of $150 for business users. Adobe Dreamweaver is $150 if you are a student, and $300

if you are a business user. You can obtain fully functioning trial versions of these products to

evaluate them for your own use at http://www.microsoft.com/expression or http://www.adobe.com/dreamweaver.

Microsoft Dreamspark provides no-cost software from Microsoft to full-time students. If you are

enrolled as a student, you can obtain Microsoft Expression Web as part of the complete Microsoft

Expression Studio package by enrolling at http://www.Dreamspark.com.