Revised: June 28, 2002
HTML Editors
HTML editors permit one to create web pages more quickly and with fewer errors than coding the HTML in an editor such as Notepad. The downside is that one doesn't learn HTML syntax as well. Most people who do web pages probably create a page using an HTML editor but make some changes by editing the HTML. I have used the following editors:
Free editors:
AOLPress can no longer be downloaded from www.aolpress.com but can be downloaded from other sites which you can find from searching the internet. These are certainly unofficial copies. Whether they are legal I don't know.
Netscape Composer is part of Netscape Communicator, which can be downloaded for free. The version in Netscape 6 appears to be somewhat better than the version in Netscape 4.
Front Page Express used to be part of Internet Explorer but isn't included in IE5 or 6. It is available on the CDs that come with some HTML books
Editors which cost $100 and up
Macromedia Dreamweaver MX (released May 2002)- $399 list, $99 academic or as part of Studio MX (Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks, and Freehand - $799 list, $199 academic) -- you can download a free 30-day trial version for free. The previous version was Dreamweaver 4.
Microsoft Front Page 2002 - $169 list, $80 academic - A 30-day trial version CD can be ordered for about $6.95.
There are other editors used by professionals which are priced over $100, but I have not used them. There are in addition a number of editors which are priced under $50 or $100, and which one can find advertised at computer stores. I have not used any of the latter category but I would guess these are for people who want to create web pages without learning HTML.
Another alternative is using a traditional word processor such as Microsoft Word to create your document and then "Save as HTML". This feature is supposed to work better in Microsoft Office 2000 than in earlier versions of Office. If you already have a document in Word, this is the best way to convert it to the web. The disadvantage of this approach is that the HTML produced is quite complicated and thus difficult to edit.