HTML Editors for Beginners — How to Choose and Use a Code Editor
To start writing HTML, you do not need complicated software. You can begin with simple text editors already on your computer.
1. Simple Editors (for beginners)
We recommend starting with a basic text editor like Notepad (Windows) or TextEdit (Mac) to understand the fundamentals without autocomplete complexity.
Windows Users
Open the Start menu and search for Notepad.
[Image: Searching for Notepad in Windows]
Mac Users
Open Finder > Applications > TextEdit.
[Image: Opening TextEdit on Mac]
2. Steps to create your first page
Write the code
Copy this simple code and paste it into the editor you opened:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h1>Welcome to Devarabi</h1>
<p>This is my first web page.</p>
</body>
</html>
Save the file (very important)
Choose File > Save As and name the file index.html.
[Image: Save dialog with encoding selected]
Open the file in your browser
Double-click the file you saved, and it will open in your default browser.
Welcome to Devarabi
This is my first web page.
3. Professional editors (IDEs)
Once you learn the basics, you will need tools that make your work faster and more accurate. Here are the best options:
VS Code
The most popular, free, and supports thousands of extensions.
Highly recommendedSublime Text
Very fast and lightweight on system resources.
Notepad++
A classic, great option for Windows users.
Why use a professional editor?
- Syntax highlighting
- Auto-complete
- Instant error detection
- Easy project file management