In General Jul 2, 201016

Coding by Hand or Use a WYSIWYG Editor?

An interesting question was asked this week on Answers, and we would like to open this discussion further with our readers, and hear your thoughts. So, do you prefer to code your site by hand or use a WYSIWYG editor?

We look forward to hearing how you prefer to code your site, you can leave your thoughts and comments below or you can leave your answer/opinion on the original question here: Do You Prefer to Code Your Site by Hand or Use a WYSIWYG Editor?.

Do You Prefer to Code Your Site by Hand or Use a WYSIWYG Editor?

Do You Prefer to Code Your Site by Hand or Use a WYSIWYG Editor?
This question was originally asked by Csgs, and you will find the favorite answers below:

Best Answer from Scunliffe:

Do You Prefer to Code Your Site by Hand or Use a WYSIWYG Editor?

Second Answer from Vinay Vidyasagar:

Do You Prefer to Code Your Site by Hand or Use a WYSIWYG Editor?

Unanswered Answers

Can you help with this weeks unanswered questions?

  1. Are There Any Cons to Having a Return Statement In all Functions?
  2. How Can I Make a Browser Window to Stay on Top and In Focus at All Times?
  3. Are You Inclined More Towards the Use of Fluid Layouts? (Why or Why Not)
  4. What Would Be the Preferable Time Zone to Set for a MySQL Website?
  5. Is There Some Way to Parse PHP Locally Without the Use of an FTP/Local Host Server?
  6. How Can I Organize My AJAX Handlers in a Secure, Logical, and Structured Manner?

Thanks again, firstly to everyone who asked a question, but most importantly thanks to everyone that took the time and effort to offer helpful and useful answers.

16 Comments

  • Brandon
    Jul 2, 2010
    Definitely agree. Coding by hand is a must for me. Used to use a WYSIWYG approach, but quickly found what a mess that usually leads to. Love having the freedom and control that you get from hand coding.
  • Zach S.
    Jul 2, 2010
    Definitely know how to code by hand. Relying on Wysiwyg editors to do everything is a bad idea. I love Dreamweaver and use it everyday, but there’s some stuff I still code by hand in it. I write all my CSS by hand, cause I can’t stand the way Dreamweave writes CSS and I have my own organization for it. I always put in divs and DL lists by hand. But for stuff like tables, I normally use Dreamweaver and then go in by hand to edit them to use thead’s and such. I’m normally in split mode in Dreamweaver so I can go back and forth easily. So it’s really a give and take and know what Dreamweaver does great at, and what it doesn’t and then you get the best of both worlds.
  • Jarrod Medrano
    Jul 2, 2010
    I only use a WYSIWYG editor when I have to work with nested tables, because they can get very confusing. Otherwise I only use BBedit or Notepad 2.
  • Coding by Hand or Use a WYSIWYG Editor? | Lively Design Tuts
    Jul 2, 2010
    [...] Direct Link [...]
  • Jim Pietrangelo
    Jul 3, 2010
    Definitely by hand. There’s no better way to gain the fine control over your page/site layout, not to mention content presentation than to master the intricacies of hand-coding. Once mastered, creating a website this way becomes analogous to painting with words and pixels. It’s a much more creative endeavor.
  • Ant Gray
    Jul 3, 2010
    By hand is faster and less errors. It even faster than making stuff in Photoshop.
  • Web Design Blackpool
    Jul 4, 2010
    I would have to say both, I personally like to have the live view there (Dreamweaver) as a quick reference to general layout. I use the hand code pane to actually code up the pages though.
  • Rolf
    Jul 5, 2010
    It depends on the Project, for SEO-Projects i prefer pogramming by hand.
  • Brandon K.
    Jul 5, 2010
    I find myself coding more now than before. I have always used Macromedia/Adobe Dreamweaver, and of course starting out I would do everything on the design front, now I find myself coding a page before I even look at it, and sometimes forget about being able to view it without publishing it (HTML). And sometimes I find myself making changes in notepad or TextEdit instead of Dreamweaver, despite how much I have paid for it :) .
  • aditia
    Jul 5, 2010
    still need them both, wysiwyg editor still need it for fast visual editing
  • Why code?
    Jul 7, 2010
    WISYWYG, every time. Because I can’t code.

    Asking the question here is bound to get almost 100% of answers saying “by hand”, because no self-respecting web designer would admit using WYSIWYG solutions for their work.

    When the WYSIWYG editors get better and better, more and more people will start making good looking, and well functioning web sites. Coding can be left to code monkeys, paid by the hour, to clean up the code.

  • VI designer
    Jul 8, 2010
    still need them both, wysiwyg editor still need it for fast visual editing.
    YES
  • Priyesh
    Jul 16, 2010
    I prefer reading a well written article but there are times when some sites have way more information that is actually relevant and this can put some people off. I believe in the fast paced society we operate in where time is something we cannot waste lists can be rather convenient even if it is at the expense of good quality writing.
  • Priyesh
    Jul 16, 2010
    I prefer using WYSIWYG editors for the initial look of the website, it is a great tool which speeds up the initial development process which can then be fine tuned using hand coding. I started off hand coding and it’s a great foundation for developing before you start using editors.
  • Backgrounds
    Jul 19, 2010
    I prefer to code by hand. WYSIWYG leaves the code in the page bloated. However, it is great for someone just starting out and has little to no experience with code.
  • Web Design Hippo
    Aug 4, 2010
    I used to code using a WYSIWYG editor. Starting this new job, I have moved away from that and hand code everything now.

    Not only is it improving my skill, but it gives better results.

Leave a Comment

Ask a Question on Design Reviver Answers