The Right Tool For The Job
Simplicity in design doesn’t necessarily mean just the layout or visual impact of a website or blog because it can also be applied to the way you actually create web content.
Many people entering the internet fray on their own will soon ask the question “what software should I use to write my code?” It’s an honest question because there’s a bunch of editing programs out there just begging to be used and it can be difficult to narrow down the field.
There are some really great programs that offer a healthy bundle of features that can help reduce the amount of repetition and re-work that invariably comes along with web design. But usually these industry-leading programs come with a rather large price tag, keeping them out of reach for the “shade tree” web designer.
And then there are other editors that really, really suck. I’m sorry, but there’s no need to sugarcoat it because it’s true. Sad, but true.
My personal recommendation for choosing an editor is to stick with the most basic thing you can get like Microsoft Notepad or TextPad. No, they’re not too sexy when it comes to features, but that’s kind of the point.
The more robust WYSIWYG editors have a slew of options and they tend to think a bit too much for you when it comes to what code should go where and often produce markup that’s just not necessary.
These editors also come with a learning curve, some steeper than others and much of your time will become devoted to just learning how to use the software and not allowing you to remain focused on the actual code itself.
You want to learn and understand web design, not how a specific program functions. Why add more stuff to weed through while you’re learning? And there’s no reason why you can’t adjust to one of the WYSIWYG editors down the road once you have the basics of web design under your belt.
When you’re starting out with coding and you use a simple text editor, there’s nothing between you and what you’re producing for the web. And because what you’re doing isn’t being filtered through the program, you understand the code much better. It’s about as organic as you can get in an inorganic environment.
Keep it as simple and uncomplicated as possible, because I’ll be honest, sometimes this web design stuff can be as frustrating as hell on its own sometimes. Did someone say nested floats?
But web design can be as equally rewarding too and I feel that those rewards don’t have to come by way of a hard fight but can be gained through plain old simplicity.
In the end, the best program to use is the one that you feel the most comfortable with. And that makes sense. But do yourself a favor and at least try writing code in a simple text editor. You never know.
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