WYSIWYGis the acronym for What You See Is What You Get. It is a nickname used to describe software in which an outlay of the final design is available at the same time as developing the content. WYSIWYG is often pronounced as wizi-wig. One of the main applications is in web designing. This software allows the resulting page will display exactly or similar the way it was designed by the author. In other words, a WYSIWYG editor or program is one that permits a developer to see what the final result will look like even while the interface or design is being created.
Three WYSIWYG modes with different levels of realism exist. These are composition mode, layout mode and preview mode. In composition mode user sees something somewhat similar to the end result. That is the final product will be exactly the same as the user expected. In layout mode, the user sees something very similar to the end result. Here the final product will be only somewhat similar to the expected product. In a preview mode the application attempts to present a representation that is as close to the final result as possible.
This type of HTML software can be described as a user interface that permits the user to view something very similar to the end result while the document or image is being created. For example, a user can view on screen how a document will look when it is printed to paper or in the case of this article, displayed in a web browser. The editing software gives the designer the ability to alter the layout of a document without having to hand type any HTML or CSS coding.
As web designers, this type of software can help us in prototyping designs and provides a platform to help junior web designers develop their HTML skills as they can refer to the HTML code that the program is creating for them. WYSIWYG Software can also help speed up experienced web designers, by allowing them to format text and proof read their web page quicker by switching to the view mode instead of the code view.
Some of the most powerful web design software such as Adobe Dreamweaver does a reasonably good job of producing valid and cross platform compatible code, without restricting your design.
Advanced HTML editors, such as MS FrontPage and Dreamweaver and will shield the designer from the HTML code and permits the web designer to think entirely in terms of how the content should appear without worrying about the code. One of the trade offs, however, is that HTML editors with viewing mode can sometimes insert markup code that it thinks is needed, all on its own. Then, the developer has to know enough about the markup language to go back into the source and clean it up manually.
As a professional web designer, I have used many advanced 'What you see is what you get' editors over the past 6 years. Although it is one of the more complex editors, Dreamweaver has become the industry standard web design and coding software. Adobe Dreamweaver offers a powerful viewing mode to the user, however beginners may struggle without a basic understanding of HTML and Web Standards. Nevertheless it is a great tool for getting starting and for professionals alike.
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