Today, web designing has become one of the prominent jobs all over the world. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced web developer, you might have to work with HTML code. As a matter of fact, HTML is considered to be the most important markup language that web designers need to learn. If you have basic HTML knowledge, it will benefit you a long way.
You will require editors to read, write, and edit HTML code. Currently, there are several editors available in the market that can help you to improve and enhance your HTML coding skills. Having an efficient interface for writing coding will enhance your experience of web development.
In this article, we will mention various HTML editors that come with various features and tools, better user interface, and functionality to help you write HTML code efficiently. So, let’s get started.
What is an HTML Editor?
HTML or Hypertext Markup Language that helps in the creation of web pages and websites. It uses various tags for defining the elements on a webpage. Also, it works well with other languages like CSS and JavaScript. HTML has a minimal learning curve which makes it a highly preferred markup language for web designing.
You can even write HTML code in the Notepad application on your system, saving it as a .html extension. Once you open this file in the browser, you will get the desired result. If you are a beginner and just started learning HTML, then Notepad can be a viable option. But if you want to write lengthy code, you need to use a powerful and efficient editor.
What to Expect from an HTML Editor?
Every developer requires a tool for writing code, and the choice is all up to the developer. There are various tools available, and making the right choice is important. Each developer has their style of writing code, so their choice may vary.
Before choosing an editor, the most important thing to check is its OS support and active development of new features. Make sure the editor you select is supported by every major operating system. It is important because projects are mostly cross-platform.
Below are some important features that are common among modern HTML editors:
- Syntax Highlighting: an HTML editor should enable the highlighting of the code syntax for better editing and fixing errors. It lets you identify the code at a glance, making it easier to work with blocks of code.
- Version Control: This feature will allow you to roll back to any point of your code change. It is important to keep track of older versions of code, especially when you are working with many developers.
- Autosave: Losing a code is every developer’s nightmare. It is important to have an autosave feature in your editor. It will help you to save your code automatically in case of a crash.
- Autocomplete and Suggestions: You can leverage the autocomplete feature when working on a lengthy code by clicking auto-populated options whenever the suggestion pops. You will get the HTML tags populated instantly, and you do not have to learn the complete tags name.
- Code Folding: When working with tags, leaving the tags open is one of the most common mistakes in HTML. Code folding helps in highlighting the open tags.
- Find and Replace: No code editor is good if it does not possess a find and replace feature. This feature becomes a necessity for a lengthy document to find and replace some keywords.
Best Free HTML Text Editors
Below is the list of text editors that are suitable for working with the HTML code and are also free to use:
1. Notepad++
Notepad++ is one of the lightweight HTML text editors available in the market. It is available for the Windows operating system. Many developers use this tool due to its simple interface. This editor supports various languages but has special support for HTML, CSS, PHP, and JavaScript.
It was introduced in the market in 2003 and is effectively evolving all thanks to its active community of developers. This editor comes with advanced features like autosave, find and replace, syntax highlighting, and many more. Also, you can enhance its functionality by integrating third-party plugins. It is well-suited for both beginners as well as seasoned coders.
It is available for free and you can use it on Windows and Linux machines.
2. Visual Studio Code
This text editor was introduced in 2015. It comes with a robust and highly customizable interface, that will allow you to make necessary changes to the code and also allows you to personalize the interface. You can even add various extensions to improve its functionality.
Visual Studio Code strongly supports HTML, CSS, PHP, and JavaScript. In case if you are switching within these languages, you will not need to switch to another editor. It allows you to use its smart features like IntelliSense, syntax highlighting, .and autocompletion. It lets you integrate GitHub version control and also supports FTP functionality.
It is a cross-platform editor available for Windows, Linux, and macOS operating systems.
3. CoffeeCup Free Editor
This editor is dedicated to HTML only. It is developed by CoffeeCup software and comes with a trimmed-down version that is available for free. With this editor, you can use unlimited FTP connections, HTML/CSS validation, and code highlighting features.
It also provides advanced features like UI/toolbar customization, code completion, and the browser preview for the HTML file. It is packed with all the essential features you need to write HTML code. Also, this editor will work perfectly with CSS and JavaScript.
4. Brackets
This editor is the same as Notepad++ but is specially dedicated to HTML. It comes with cross-platform support and can run on Windows, macOS, and Linux. It possesses all the essential features that you need to write code efficiently.
This editor comes with additional features like. CSS, PHP, and JavaScript support with live preview, preprocessor support, syntax highlighting, and various free extensions to improve the editor’s efficiency.
Brackets is best suited for developers who require minimal and clean workspace.
5. Komodo Edit
Komodo Edit is an IDE created by ActiveState. It is one of the commonly used integrated development environments, offering various advanced features for debugging and integrating with other platforms. It is a simple, easy-to-use HTML editor. You can run this editor on different platforms like Windows, various Linux distributions, and macOS.
It comes with support for various languages like HTML, CSS, PHP, and JavaScript. Also, it allows you to customize the editor’s interface, making it workable for developers. You can use its features like autocomplete, multi-selection, and change tracking features to write code faster and efficiently.
6. Sublime Text
Sublime text is one of the sophisticated HTML editors present in the market. You can use this editor on Windows, Linux, and macOS. It offers you 23 in-built themes and allows you to customize the interface as per your preferences. It supports various markup languages and programming languages.
You can work with strings or symbols, define various syntax, highlight code, work in multiple panes, and perform split editing. Sublime Text also offers you a searchable command palette, allowing you to keep your interface clean and readable. This way, you can avoid dealing with infrequently used functions.
7. Atom
Developed by GitHub, Atom is ideal for team collaboration. It offers you built-in support for Git and GitHub version control features. This editor mostly focuses on real-time collaboration. It will avoid the hassle of sending the code files among the developers.
Atom is available for all major operating systems. It supports themes, third-party plugins, and allows the required HTML and CSS code changes. It is highly extensible and offers various features to help you code productively.
Conclusion
No doubt, HTML is an essential markup language that allows web developers to create stunning web apps and websites. For a better code writing experience, each developer requires the right source-code editor so that they can improve their coding skills and productivity.
You can choose any of the text editors for HTML language as per your preferences. In the above article, we have mentioned various editors that come loaded with several features to help you write HTML code effectively.