What do you use for webpage authoring?

I currently use a plain text editor, Scite. I used to use MS Frontpage, but I'm going to be switching over to Dreamweaver. I will continue to use Scite for some sites, though.

I've used plain text on the following sites, although some of them I wrote the plain text in Frontpage:

http://www.havencomic.com/
http://www.timothyscards.com/

The following were done in FP:

http://www.cactusjacksokc.com/
http://www.acpsheetmetal.com/

I like Front Page myself ..

I think the point should be before using any development tool is that you should know how to code by hand becuase software will and does make mistakes; if you're relying purely on WYSIWYG you'll need to know what went wrong at a code level when things don't go quite according to plan.

That being said, I use dreamweaver and absolutely love it. It's entirely constructed with developers (not designers) in mind and is just a dream (pardon the pun) to use. Built in ftp and complete site management (including dynamic sites), color coding, complete css support (better WYSIWYG css support on the way with v8, due for release next month). Easily switch between code and design mode or split screen the two. Works perfectly when editing multiple files. The search and replace tool is an absolute god-send! Hundreds of additional features can be added through it's behaviours library tool - some useful, some not so useful. Browser debugging and complete XHTML coding support too. There's much much more but you get the idea!

Widely considered as industry standard for developers and web professionals, if you're serious about development, dreamweaver's your app! The only thing that may dissuade you is the price tag but that's immaterial when you consider the money you'll save in efficieny alone!

Hope that helps

I totally agree with everything gfawce said. Basically, I see no reason why I should waste my time writing p tags by hand when Dreamweaver can do it just as well and much more efficiently. I use DW for basic mark-up and hand-code when I need to (layout DIV's, CSS).

I also love the built-in validator

(My site is a combo of Dreamweaver HTML and weblog & gallery scripts scripts so I'm not sure that it's a good example for you.)

Thanks so much for your comments...I will check out your sites via the links you've provided.

Much appreciated...

One quick addition to my post . . . a website's structure is not necessarily an indicator of the software used to construct the site but rather a testimony to the skills of the developer. A good developer can code a good website no matter what development tool they use. The tools are just there to make our lives a little easier, not to make a site "better" necessarily.

Therefore, I'm not sure what examining sites built in XYZ editor will do in helping you to decide which editor to use. Hope that made sense!

I do both. I use dreamweaver to create the basic templates to save time, then I hand code. Especially if it is in ASP and most javascript.

Have got very good comments on this thread... Heres mine:
Ive used dreamweaver as well as frontpage and so many others for web page making before, yeah I generally dig dreamweaver compared to the others but still upto now I code by hand, using notepad; Maybe because Im used to seeing codes to generate outcomes, my field is engineering so I tend to like coding... But when I run across some problems and would like to check things out like other tagging options as wel as validating and cleaning up my codes I really really recommend HTML-KIT; saved me on some headaches before...

Guess I'm a bit of a hand-coding purist. WYSIWYG programs have never been big for me, hand-coding has always been my preference since the very beginning. I find that it gives the designer/developer a lot more control over things than what a program can offer.

That is not to say I've never given WYSIWYG programs a go though, I have. I've used Dreamweaver, Frontpage, Nvu and a few other not so popular ones, and I haven't really like any of them... sure, some of the functions are handy and all, but in the end, I'd rather learn what I'm doing that just letting a program do it for me.

Well I got tired of typing and tryed front page. We did not get along at all! Then I tried Hotmetal. It has been a huge help and time saver. But you can still code, insert shopping cart scripts, css it's been great. But since there hasn't been an update in several years I'm thinking of trying Dreamweaver.

Somehow I am surprised to see the hand code/text editor/wysiwyg question again. I thought every one but me had swithched to Dreamweaver a long time ago
I still hand code in NoteTab. I use a lot of CSS and it seems I can write if faster or use my own templates easier than I can LEARN a new software package. That being said, I would like to learn some of DW's tools, site managament and stuff, but time will tell.

~bobbi

Don't use frontpage!

I use Dreamweaver, however if you are looking for something free, NVU (http://www.nvu.com) is very good.

By hand with a plain text editor called Edit Pad...Edit Pad has evolved, but I like the old, old version from years ago....EditPad Classic 3.53

note tab lite (just because i cant aford dreamweaver)

PHP Expert Editor!

Easy to use and the built in FTP access to your site allows you to alter your pages in 'real time'.

Bluefish!

Ah, I've got a copy of that on my Linux box, damn good app!

I use Dreamweaver but can't stand the idea of letting any kind of WYSIWYG rubbish touch my beautiful code! Also I'm a heavy user of CSS hacks so DW often can't render what I've done.

So I use it primarily as a text beautifyer. At my day job I use HTML Kit, it's free but still good at making the code render in pretty colours

Yay! I designed my first site in awhile with Fireworks/Dreamweaver last night. Took some getting used to again, but I love it.

WOW, great response from all of you. Very valuable insight to all your preferences. I will be checking them all out....THANK YOU SO MUCH. I do all of my coding by hand and was just looking for something a little faster. If I choose to use a program I will most certainly continue to edit by hand.

Thanks again to all....

My one-and-only for the past few years has been Note Tab Pro. Well worth the $20. Add-on libraries include PHP, CSS, etc. It has:
Multiple documents with tabs (saved between sessions)
Single or double click operations for , , , lists, etc., depending on how your customize the toolbars. You can select a whole doc of text and format it for html in a single click, including special characters.
Spellcheck
Imbed images (too simple if your folders match your server structure)
Convert tags or set default
Strip html
Convert text case
hyperlink (including mailto and bookmarks)
and a ton of other stuff I've never used.

And they haven't updated in about two years

Bluefish is nice, I used it for nearly a year, I think, from 0.10 to 1.0. Prior to that I used Kate when I was in KDE.

Since I've diversified into non-web programming as well, Bluefish doesn't quite cut it as a one-stop editor, and I really don't like switching between multiple apps to do similar work. Also since I've started to rely on SSH at uni, well, the less GUI the better.

Tried Vim for a couple of months, and am now transitioning to Emacs. Both are nice, but I find Vim's clever modal editing a bit of a pain. Emacs Lisp is growing on me too.

Tbh, all I look for in an editor, as far as web coding goes, is syntax highlighting and auto-indenting schemes for XHTML, CSS, PHP, SQL, and XML/XSL. It's just nice to have all this bundled with the same portable app I use for other coding.

Unique? Maybe not, but I've never seen one as intuitive.