To create Web pages made up of HTML and CSS you need nothing more than a basic text editor like Notepad (Windows) or Text Edit (Mac). But after typing a few hundred lines of HTML and CSS you may want to try a program better suited to working with Web pages. This section lists some common programs; some of them are free and some you have to buy.
Note
There are literally hundreds of tools that can help you create Web pages, so the following isn't a complete list. Think of it as a greatest hits-style tour of the most popular programs that CSS fans are using today.
There are plenty of free programs out there for editing Web pages and style sheets. If you're still using Notepad or Text Edit, then give one of these a try. Here's a short list to get you started:
HTML-Kit (Windows, http://www.chami.com/html-kit/). This powerful HTML/XHTML editor includes lots of useful features like the ability to preview a Web page directly in the program (so you don't have to switch back and forth between browser and editor), shortcuts for adding HTML tags, and a lot more.
TextWrangler (Mac, http://www.barebones.com/products/textwrangler/). This free software's actually a pared-down version of BBEdit, the sophisticated, well-known text editor for the Mac. TextWrangler doesn't have all of BBEdit's built-in HTMLtools, but it does include syntax-coloring (meaning that tags and properties are highlighted in different colors so it's easy to scan a page and identify its parts), FTP support (so you can upload files to a Web server), and more.
Commercial Web site development programs range from inexpensive text editors to complete Web site construction tools with all the bells and whistles:
EditPlus (Windows, http://www.editplus.com) is an inexpensive ($30) text editor that includes syntax-coloring, FTP, auto-completion and other wrist-saving features.
skEdit (Mac, http://www.skti.org) is a cheap ($25) Web page editor, complete with FTP/ SFTP support, code hints and other useful features.
BBEdit (Mac, http://www.barebones.com/products/bbedit). This much-loved Mac text editor ($199) has plenty of tools for working with HTML, XHTML, CSS and more. Includes many useful Web building tools and shortcuts.
Dreamweaver (Mac and Windows, http://www.macromedia.com/software/dreamweaver) is a visual Web page editor ($399.) It lets you see how your page looks in a Web browser. The program also includes a powerful text-editor and excellent CSS creation and management tools. Check out Dreamweaver: The Missing Manual for the full skinny on how to use this powerful program.
Expression Web Designer (Windows, http://www.microsoft.com) is Microsoft's new entry in the Web design field. It replaces FrontPage and includes many professional Web design tools including very good support for creating CSS.
Note
The various types of software discussed in this section are general purpose programs that let you edit both HTML/XHTML and CSS. With them, you need to learn only one program for your Web development needs. But if you've already got a beloved HTML/XHTML editor that doesn't do CSS, then you may want to check out one of the CSS-specific editing programs covered in Appendix C.
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