Looking for a simple HTML editor with WYSIWYG

TidBITS Talk
1

When I recently updated my 2017 iMac from Mojave to Ventura I knew I would lose use of an ancient web page editing app - Komposer (that evolved from NVU). I naively assumed there would be a suitable 64-bit replacement but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
As indicated in the title, the app should be WYSIWYG and enable me to easily add URL links, images and the like. I also want to work on local files that I can upload to my host site when I am happy with the edits.
I have downloaded and tried numerous HTML editing apps that claim to be easy to use but, so far, none have achieved the features that I use with Komposer.
For now I am using Komposer on an older iMac that I will keep on Mojave so I can keep using 32-bit apps. I appreciate that I could set up a VM running Mojave on my main Mac but, for now, that would be more of a nuisance than swapping Macs.
Apps tried include:
Everweb
Pinegrow
Bluegriffon
Abby
Smultron
HTML-Notepad
Coda
Quanta+
Pell (Javascript)

Others that I have avoided are online editors.

2

Three options you might want to try (don’t know if you’ll find them acceptable):

  • SeaMonkey. The current incarnation of the old Netscape Communicator integrated suite, including Composer.

    Composer was the basis for Nvu and later Kompozer. Maybe its current evolution will be acceptable?

  • Microsoft Office. You can save a Word file as HTML. Hyperlinks in your document will come through as links. But I’ve found that the result is a tangled mess of HTML, CSS and scripts. So you really can’t edit the results without going back to the original Word document. No clue about browser compatibility.

  • According to Wikipedia, Daniel Glazman (lead developer of Nvu) created BlueGriffon as a successor to Nvu. It is not free software, but it can be used without a license (with a restricted feature set). If you like it and need access to the features that require a license, a basic license (all features but EPUB support) costs €75 and a license for the EPUB features costs €195.

    Again, probably worth a try. Only you can decide if the unlicensed version meets your requirements or if you think it’s worth paying the license fee for the advanced features.

3

Wolf

Do you do any HTML coding at all? Whisk might work if you can write simple HTML

Tumult Whisk

4

Yes - I wrote some tips in 1997!
http://www.vdrsyd.com/aoaug/how_html.html

I will try out Seamonkey (I can’t remember what put me off a year or two ago)

5

Seamonkey seems perfect for the job. I didn’t realise it had a Composer. This is very similar to Kompozer.
Thank you

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6

Well, “simple” is very subjective, but I use both Espresso and Nova.

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7

If you want to consider jumping out of the WYSIWYG mold, and get into some actual under-the-cover HTML coding, I highly recommend BBEdit. I have been using it for many years now. In conjunction with BBEdit, I also highly recommend Balthisar Tidy for Work, which is an excellent HTML code verifier and automatic fixer. Using the latter app will make your web pages perfect for search engines such as Google. There is a free version of BBEdit, and I believe of Balthisar Tidy as well, which has less functionality. I have the commercial version of both apps.

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