Selecting a web editor

The first step in understanding web editing is that today's web pages are not a physical design but a logical design.  The second step is realizing that in our entrepreneurial society, all the web browsers and all the web editor creators are trying to outdo their competitors.  This has created a Tower of Babel.

So what is a web page designer to do?  Write for yesterday, today and tomorrow!  How can this be done?  It can't.  The solution is to be mostly good for one's target audience.  The "castadelsol.org" website is targeted to home users.  This includes a high percentage of dial-up surfers.  The majority of the hits on this site are from computers with Windows 98 operating system.   These customers cannot be ignored.

When one counts the different brands of browsers and their various versions, there are dozens and dozens of different browsers in use.  Add to this the variety of computers, operating systems, screen sizes and personal settings, it becomes impossible to satisfy all.

The W3C committee is creating the industry standard for web page design.  The greatest success is accomplished when everyone conforms to their standards.  The problem is that the W3C committee keeps moving the goal-posts.  But they keep moving in the right direction.

The starting point for web design is HTML.  Very usable web pages can be designed with nothing but HTML.  And it is most difficult to debug one's work without knowledge of the language.  After HTML is mastered, then the designer can move on with confidence to the more advanced languages.

Microsoft's FrontPage is considered by most as the best choice for a starting web editor.  Different opinions abound.  Let them abound and then start with Microsoft's Front Page, just don't use the proprietary functions.  Although Microsoft is a contributor to the W3C committee and their products anticipate future standards, no crystal ball is perfect.

So write for yesterday and today -- and be happy!