You build a webpage, modify it, save it, open the preview in a new window to review the update, and repeat until you get what you desire. Isn't it so tiring? Of course, it is. But do you know there are a lot of rich text editors? Which can help you build your creative wabpage quickly, modify content and design, and see the result without wasting much time. 

In the olden days of the internet, web design involved complicated coding that skilled programmers could understand. When WYSIWYG was invented, webpage development and content creation became so easy that coding was not essentially needed. This editor automatically reflects the final result when changes are being made on the screen.

Let's dive in and see what WYSIWYG editors are and the features it provides, their advantages, their functionality, and a few best WYSIWYG editors.

What exactly is WYSIWYG?

WYSIWYG stands for "what you see is what you get," which has eased in building a webpage and creating content. It allows you to modify your content or design and see the output without HTML coding.

A prevalent example of a WYSIWYG editor is Microsoft Word, a blank page with some formatting tools that allow you to add and arrange tables, images, lists, and so on. Moreover, what you see on the screen is what you get after sharing the document or when you print.

Why should you use the WYSIWYG editor?

You can use the WYSIWYG editor because it empowers greater creative control over a wide range of content development. Without technical expertise, anyone can create digital content such as landing pages, email newsletters, or blogs. Moreover, the editor is simplified publishing and has more visibility.

As rich text-based editors make it easy for developers and content creators to see how they want their work to appear and get the final result they desire; therefore, that is how creating WebPages and doing modifications become manageable and accessible. In addition, the WYSIWYG editors give you real-time collaboration, quick and simple file management, easy to set up and simple to integrate,  it has a high-quality code, and you can also find a blog to assist you. Most interestingly, 'what you see is what you get' editors are customizable, giving you the best user experience.

Not everybody knows HTML; however, WYSIWYG editors provide a GUI interface to create content that is made of HTML. A graphical user interface simplifies the GUIs creation; it allows you to manage and control elements (widgets).  

You can use plugins to enjoy the following features easily:

  • Drag and drop various elements like media and text blocks
  • Changing fonts, spacing, alignment, and layouts
  • Code view and Code beautifier
  • Paste from Google Docs and LibreOffice

What are the top WYSIWYG editors?

It can be your biggest concern regarding which WYSIWYG editor to choose. In the competitive advancement in technology, you need an advanced and highly efficient tool to do your task. Due to the best user experience, satisfied reviews by users, engaging interface, and easy integration feature, the below are the top text-based HTML editors:

  • Froala, Read more about Froala here.
  • Tinymce, Read more about Tinymce here.
  • CKEditor, Read more about Ckeditor here.
  • Summernote.
  • Sedka Editor.

What are the basic features of the WYSIWYG HTML editor?

A standard WYSIWYG editor usually has the following basic features:

  • A box to type your content
  • Various text styles
  • Text color and highlighting
  • Variety of font options
  • Bold, underline, and italic
  • Numbered lists, and bullet points
  • Alignment
  • Hyperlink

However, a few advanced WYSIWYG editors like Froala, TinyMCE, and CKEditor provide the best features that make your work more easily done. Below are the advanced features:

  • Clean copy-paste
  • Spell checker
  • Accessibility checker
  • Link checker
  • Advanced media embedding
  • Tables
  • Custom themes and icons
  • Clean code markup and quick, easy switching

The side-by-side interface: 

The side-by-side layout lets you witness the result instantly and do your task with minimal effort. WYSIWYG editors give you a side-by-side interface to see the generated HTML output. However, not every WYSIWYG editor provides side by side editor, but it is a plus point to have this premium feature, just like Markdown. Two windows allow you to write and edit your content in one window and see the generated HTML from the text document in another. In addition, you can witness the editor automatically updating the HTML when you update the content. 

Here is the side-by-side window of Froala. 

Froala.com

Every WYSIWYG editors generate almost the same HTML output, but processing is different in each editor. Moreover, each editor has its API to use the features that make it differently customizable. API is the Application Programming Interface, and the WYSIWYG editor's APIs allow a contract between two applications that describes how those applications communicate with each other by using requests and responses. 

Hence, WYSIWYG editors play an important role when developing and modifying a website. It allows you to make changes and see how they may be displayed on the live server. 

So let's get started with any of the Top WYSIWYG editors in the market. 

Must Read: Top best WYSIWYG editors, 2022