When it comes to web design software, there are many choices out there: Dreamweaver, Sketch, Photoshop. But if you’re looking for something that’s more robust, easier to use, and less expensive than the paid options, open source web design software like Dreamweaver can be a great choice.
In this article we’ll cover what open source is, why it’s a good choice for web design software, and some of the best options out there.
Table of Contents
Can Open Source Web Design Software Like Dreamweaver
Not all that many years ago, pretty much every webpage on the Internet was, at some level, designed painstakingly by hand. It was tough, and before CSS really took hold and became well supported across most common browsers, it often involved hacking a layout together by using HTML tables in a way they were never really envisioned to support.
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While some designers developed workflows completely based around manual editing of raw HTML files, the WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor began to emerge as a tool of empowerment to millions of amateur and professional designers who didn’t know, or at least hadn’t mastered, the art of hypertext markup.
Products like CoffeeCup, HotDog, FrontPage, GoLive, and many others filled the market, and many web-based WYSIWYG editors emerged as well. Among the more successful was Macromedia (later Adobe) Dreamweaver, which was among my personal favorites for many years.
These web authoring tools weren’t just about WYSIWYG editing; even for those who were comfortable with direct authoring of markup language, these tools offered advantages with template control, file management, and simply reducing the time it takes to create functional code.
But just as these helpful editors were expanding access to webpage creation, something else was happening too. Content management systems like Drupal and WordPress (and many, many others before them) displaced the need for the average content producer to need to edit raw HTML at all. You could easily make a functional website without even worrying about the underlying markup.
So did the rise of the content management system change the web? Absolutely. Did it eliminate the need to hand code HTML? Well, for some people, yes. But as the web moved from a collection of content to a platform for applications, just as many new opportunities have arisen for doing markup. Every software as a service application, every social media network, and even many mobile applications rely on HTML and CSS to render their display. And those content management systems? They still need templates to function.
And though many helpful libraries exist to standardize and simplify the web development process, coding for the web isn’t being displaced any time soon. Proprietary tools are still common, but there is a rich collection of open source alternatives out there. Here are some you should consider.
- BlueGriffon
BlueGriffon is an open source WYSIWYG editor powered by Gecko, the rendering engine developed for Mozilla Firefox. One of a few derivatives of NVU, a now-discontinued HTML editor, BlueGriffon is the only actively developed NVU derivative that supports HTML5 as well as modern components of CSS. If your goal is to write as little actual HTML as possible, then BlueGriffon is the tool you want. It’s a true drag-and-drop WYSIWYG website designer, and even includes a dual view option so you can see the code behind your design, in case you want to edit it or just learn from it.
It also supports the EPUB ebook format, so you don’t have to just publish to the web: you can provide your readers with a download of your content that they can take with them. Licensed under the MPL, GPL, and LGPL, a version of BlueGriffon is available for Linux, Windows, and Mac.
- Aptana Studio
Aptana Studio is an “open source development tool for the open web” which, in practice, means it’s more of an advanced IDE specializing in web development. Based on the open source Eclipse project, Aptana Studio features tools for assisting in HTML and CSS authoring, including code coloring and completion, debugging, and outlining of documents. Its main selling point is its JavaScript support, making it a strong tool for developing more complex web applications. - NetBeans
NetBeans is a widely used software development platform for building web, mobile, and desktop applications with Java, JavaScript, HTML5, and more. It has been supported by Oracle (and its predecessor, Sun) since 1999, and in October 2016 moved to the Apache Foundation for open governance, and simplified and streamlined community contributions. Netbeans isn’t exactly a drag-and-drop web design application, but it’s a robust web-aware IDE. It’s a great choice if you’re developing web apps, or if you just enjoy coding for the web. - SeaMonkey
SeaMonkey is a community continuation of what was once a Mozilla-produced internet application suite. While Mozilla decided to narrow its focus to individual projects, SeaMonkey continues to make regular releases of its full suite, which includes SeaMonkey Composer, a simple WYSIWYG HTML editor. You’d struggle to do advanced layouts with Composer (for instance, you can’t adjust the CSS display or property to create a two column text and image pair, but would have to use a non-responsive table instead), but for basic pages with zero code written, this is a realistic option. - Aloha Editor
Aloha Editor is a JavaScript-based WYSIWYG HTML5 editor that allows users to edit content in the same layout that readers view it. This is a pretty unique model, as it’s not exactly an application itself, but embeds an editor into your HTML page. It requires a Node.js stack, so if you’re not a developer familiar with Javascript then it can be difficult to configure. However, if you’re a site admin looking for an easy editing interface for your users to make quick updates to their pages, then you should say “aloha” to Aloha. - WordPress
The open source content management service (CMS) and blogging platform, WordPress, features a structured yet flexible page layout interface. It lets you create blog posts and pages with just enough flexibility to let your creativity thrive, and with just enough restriction to ensure that your creation renders correctly in all browsers. With WordPress, you can have choose your desired level of complexity at every step. You can self-host it using their famous 5-minute install method, or you can buy hosting from WordPress.com. You can use the drag-and-drop designer to create pages, or you can hack on HTML and PHP yourself. You can choose a contributed theme or you can design and create your own. It’s a great resource for anyone who wants to run a website. - Try an advanced text editor
While not necessarily the best for beginners, a number of text editors provide additional functionality that is incredibly useful to those editing HTML/CSS documents. When used side-by-side with a modern browser with built-in debugging tools, you may be just as productive with one of these as you are with a more dedicated solution. Some of our favorites include:
Atom describes itself as a “hackable text editor for the 21st century.” Developed by GitHub, it has support for HTML and CSS out of the box and many additional plugins available.
Brackets is a JavaScript-based text editor developed by Adobe for web design and frontend development. It touts its inline editor, live preview, and preprocessor support functions for making it easier to do web design in the browser.
Vim or Emacs. Without participating in the holy war between these two traditional text editors, I can safely say that there are a number of enhancements for web editing available for both. So if you’re already a terminal junkie, take your pick. Or, if those don’t satisfy, try one of these Emacs/Vim alternatives.
Are any of these solutions a feature-by-feature reproduction of Dreamweaver or another proprietary tool? Of course not. They weren’t designed to be. They each have had their own roadmap and goals, and their own strengths and weaknesses. Web design is a big world with lots of applications and lots of approaches. Take the time to find the workflow that meets your needs. Try out a new tool, see what you like and don’t like about it, and share your feedback with the broader community in the comments.
best free html editor
Free Windows HTML Editors For Web Developers
Phase 5
Programmer’s Notepad
SynWrite
PlainEdit.NET
Notepad++
jEdit
Sublime Text 2 – The Swiss Army Knife
Brackets
Aptana Studio 3
If you want to develop a website, you’ll need an HTML editor. You could, of course, use the Windows Notepad to build a website, but that would hardly be convenient, comfortable, or pretty, for that matter. Crucially, a good HTML editor must do two things very well: syntax highlighting (coloration of the code) and autocompletion. Naturally an extra feature or two is welcome: a selection of themes, for example, that would not only accommodate your taste, but also increase your productivity and mitigate fatigue in long bouts of coding. With that, let’s have an impartial look at the nine best free HTML editors for Windows.
- Phase 5
Phase 5 is a widely known editor that has been steadily updated since 1998.
A few features of Phase5 are project management, tag completion, an integrated image viewer, a syntax debugger, support for special characters, indentation assistance, search and replace, and customizable menus and templates.
Phase 5 supports popular formats like PHP, Javascript, HTML, VBScript, Java, and Pearl. A file manager quickly lets you switch between documents. You can edit multiple documents simultaneously, and much more.
Phase 5 runs on Windows 7 and 8, Vista, XP, 2000, 98 32/64 bit, and server versions.
Link to website
- Programmer’s Notepad
Programmer’s Notepad offers a modern interface that comes in two themes: one bright, the other dark, as pictured. Besides syntax highlighting, the editor boasts text clips (code snippets), code folding (selective hiding/displaying of code) and can be finely tailored to your personal needs through Python scripts and add-ons.
Link to website
- SynWrite
SynWrite is an editor with a wide variety of functionality. The idea behind SynWrite is to concentrate everything good about other editors into a single free product, and the feature list reads accordingly. The editor can be augmented with plugins written in Python. Aside from typical functionality such as code folding and autocompletion, SynWrite also allows for multi-caret editing (see animation):
This feature can save a load of time. What’s more, SynWrite supports Emmet (previously Zen Coding).
Link to website
- PlainEdit.NET
PlainEdit can open multiple files in tabs, can likewise be expanded with plugins and provides plenty of functions, including customizable templates. Users can quickly and easily insert snippets (templates, pieces of code, or other text) from a sidebar. Moreover, you can search and replace text with regular expressions, even in documents not presently open. It’s worth noting that PlainEdit can even be run from a USB stick.
Link to website
- Notepad++
Notepad++ is something of a classic. It emerged when the editor, which Windows shipped with, had gotten rather long in the tooth and failed to offer important functionality.
Notepad++ offers a tab interface, autocompletion, and great code highlighting. Macro recording automates frequently-used commands. The interface can be configured to your needs, and there are plenty of plugins at your disposal to broaden the feature set.
Link to website
- jEdit
jEdit can open, edit, and accordingly highlight syntax in virtually any file. Opening multiple files makes life a lot easier. Any missing features can be filled in with plugins.
This is not to say that jEdit skimps on features. Out of the box, jEdit is packaged with key functionality such as code folding, marking of connected elements and tags, a file manager, and a good search and replace function. Furthermore, the ability to configure and expand the editor makes jEdit worthy competition among its peers.
Link to website
Cross-platform Options
The following options are available for several platforms, and each is convincing in its own right. Whether you use Linux, Mac OS or Windows, you can take your pick from three great editors.
- Sublime Text 2 – The Swiss Army Knife
No other HTML editor is quite as triumphant as Sublime Text 2. It launched to immediate praise from swooning professional web developers. It is deeply customizable via extensions and JSON files. It’s tough to imagine any functionality outside of Sublime Text’s grasp.
With the aid of Package Control, downloading and installing extensions is a breeze. Because the editor has enjoyed such widespread adoption, there’s an extensive plugin library available, even in addition to those offered on the developer’s website.
Sublime Text 2 stands apart for its extensive documentation, both official and unofficial. Tutorials for Sublime Text 2 are everywhere and lower the learning curve.
Sublime Text 2 is not free. It can be downloaded and evaluated for free with no limits, but if you like it, the $70 license is a very fair investment.
A look at Sublime Text 2
Link to website
- Brackets
Brackets is a modern, open-source editor with a few interesting features. It works with Adobe Creative Cloud Extract (Preview) to read design data such as colors, fonts, gradients, and more directly from a PSD file and convert it to CSS. It can also extract layers as images, use information from the PSD to define preprocessor variables, and easily get dimensions between objects. This is all possible without ever leaving the editor.
Note: Adobe Creative Cloud is a paid service. Extract (its free preview) can be directly installed alongside Brackets.
Extensions are another big plus for Brackets, which can be used to tailor the editor to the user’s needs. New extensions are released every three to four weeks. The robust support for preprocessors also merits mention.
Features such as Live Preview and Quick Edit can be used with LESS and SCSS files to streamline your work. Together with the right extensions and Adobe Creative Cloud Extract, Brackets can cover all the professional bases.
A look at Brackets:
Link to website
- Aptana Studio 3
The current iteration of Aptana Studio (version 3) is one of the best known and most comprehensive IDEs for Windows, Mac, and Linux. In version 3, the developers wanted to resolve one of Aptana Studio’s weakest points: spotty performance.
The greatest strengths of the editor are its customizability, Git integration, and the built-in terminal. Aptana Studio 3 supports the newest web standards such as HTML5 and CSS3. It offers an integrated debugger for Ruby and JavaScript.
Link to website
Decided Not to Code? Take a Look at Mobirise
If you just ran into this article to find HTML editors that take away the coding part from you, you’ll have found out by now that this is the wrong place. To not lose you leaving completely disappointed I want to advise you to take a look at Mobirise. Mobirise is an installable editor, too. The difference to the others mentioned here is that it does not let you fiddle with the code. Instead, it completely keeps you away from that. We have written a full-fledged article on Mobirise and I strongly encourage you to check it out.
Mobirise is available for Windows and macOS and comes fully free of charge. If you need a fully responsive website in the fastest way possible, ditch the code editors and head over to Mobirise.
Conclusion
There is a wide range of HTML editors for Windows, but only a handful excel. For non-daily use, there’s Notepad++. For daily professional use, however, Notepad++ would not suffice. To that end, there are better options, such as Sublime Text 2, which can be customized to suit the user’s needs. Fans of turnkey editors might prefer Aptana, SynWrite, or Programmer’s Notepad. Which one will you choose?
Conclusion
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