In the past, web content editing was a time-consuming task. For example, adding different web components like tables and images required significant effort. Additionally, identifying and fixing bugs was challenging.
However, with the increasing competition in the business world, developers need to look for ways to improve time-to-market for their web apps and websites, like a rich text editor.
Fortunately, web developers today have several tools to enhance productivity. Two of these are a text editor and a JavaScript web editor. Many assume a text editor is the same as a rich text editor. These software tools differ in many ways.
This article will discuss the difference between a text editor and a rich text editor. We’ll also show you which one is the better choice to improve productivity.
What Is A Text Editor?
Text editor software allows you to create and edit plain text. It provides basic features like finding, replacing text, cutting, copying, and pasting.
One of the most basic text editors is Notepad, included with Windows OS by default. In addition to writing plain text, you can also use Notepad to write and run a program using your preferred coding language.
For instance, if you want to create an HTML document, you can write code in HTML and save it with the .html extension.
However, Notepad offers limited features when it comes to coding, so you have to do everything manually.
Today, many code editors provide more advanced features than a basic text editor. Code editors are text editors but also come with features that help with better coding, like syntax highlighting and auto code completion.
What Is A Rich Text Editor?
A rich text editor called a WYSIWYG HTML editor is a handy tool that allows web developers to create and edit content effortlessly. It shows you how your web content will appear live on a web browser.
WYSIWYG editors are like word processors that come with several productivity features. For example, you can use a WYSIWYG editor to write and edit text and add images, videos, links, and tables without writing a single line of code. However, an advanced and powerful rich text editor lets you edit HTML code.
Is A Rich Text Editor Better Than Text Editor For Improving Productivity?
A WYSIWYG HTML editor is a better choice if you’re looking to speed up the web content development process and create a website with a modern UI.
Here are the main features of WYSIWYG editors for improving productivity:
Editing and Formatting
Most WYSIWYG HTML editors provide basic text formatting features, like bold and italics. However, an advanced WYSIWYG HTML editor also offers additional features to edit web documents:
- Various background and text colors
- Multiple fonts and font sizes
- Line spacing and indentation
- Superscript and subscript
- Add emoticons to your documents
- Numbered and bulleted lists
- Line breaker
- Define a custom style for specific text
- Several text alignment options
- Embed content from the web in the WYSIWYG HTML editor
Add Images and Videos
A WYSIWYG editor makes it super quick and easy to add rich media like images and videos to your web page. For instance, you can upload image/video files directly from your device or by URL.
Rich Media Editing
When using an advanced editor, you also get multiple options to edit rich media:
- Resize images and videos
- Add image captions
- Align images and videos
- Image styling options (rounded, bordered, or shadowed)
- Insert links
- Add image alt text
- Replace an image or video
- Preview videos directly from the editor’s interface
- Change image size
- Reposition images
Integrate A Rich Text Editor
You can integrate a WYSIWYG editor into your web app or site to enhance the rich text editing experience.
For example, using its powerful API, you can quickly add a WYSIWYG editor to your website and web apps. Froala has several client framework plugins, such as React, Ember, Angular, and Vue, to integrate seamlessly into your apps.
JavaScript web editor also has extensive API documentation, making integration even easier for you. In addition, the documentation contains details about integrating the rich text editor into your apps.
The documentation also explains each API event and method in detail. A good editor also lets you try the functionality of API, such as Live Content Preview, Live Code Preview, and more.
Customizable Toolbar
Many rich text editors allow you to customize the toolbar for your ease. For example, the toolbar can accommodate over 100 features simultaneously and provides several customization options.
You can add the tools you frequently use and remove the ones you rarely use so that it’s easier to find tools. You can also customize the order of the tools the way you find easy.
Some editors also let users customize the toolbar’s position. For instance, you can make the toolbar sticky and fix it at the top or bottom.
Grammar and Spell Check
Another advantage of using powerful WYSIWYG editors is that they let you check grammar and spelling while typing. This is a great feature for creating flawless content and improving productivity.
Track Changes
Track changes are another valuable feature of rich text editors that boosts developers’ productivity. For example, an editor allows you to:
- Show or hide tracked changes
- Track changes in the text, such as new text, deleted text
- Track changes related to style and formatting
- Track changes made to tables and images
- Accept or reject changes
Code View
Advanced editors allow users to view and edit the HTML code of their content. This feature is beneficial for expert developers with advanced knowledge of HTML.
Copy And Paste Content
Many developers find copying and pasting content from external sources like MS Word to a rich text editor challenging. It’s because word processors aren’t made for creating web content.
When you copy and paste the content from such sources, your web documents can have invalid HTML markup. So, what’s the solution?
- Paste Content As Plain Text: Powerful editor’s rich text editor allows you to paste the content as plain text. Doing this removes all the unnecessary hidden syntax. But this also removes the content styling and formatting.
- Clean The Unnecessary Code: Some rich text editors also provide an option to clean all the unnecessary code but keep the styling. This feature boosts productivity as developers don’t have to style their content again.
Extend The Functionality Of A Rich Text Editor Plugin
Some advanced editors allow you to extend the editor’s functionality through plugins. This is helpful when you’re working on a complex website and need additional features to create excellent content. Simply put, you can use plugins to add a new feature to the editor.
Here are some of the most helpful plugins of a WYSIWYG HTML editor for enhancing editing experience and developer productivity:
MathType
When creating scientific content for a website, you’ll need a feature that helps you write mathematical and chemical equations.
An advantage of using advanced editors is that they come with the MathType plugin. MathType is one of the best software for creating mathematical equations quickly.
Codox
An advanced, rich text editor enables real-time collaboration through third-party integrations like Codox.
Codox is a tool used to add real-time co-editing capabilities within applications. This feature turns a rich text editor into Google Docs.
Photo by Matt Ragland on Unsplash.
