Notepad++ works with tabs, so it's very easy to work with multiple files open at the same time. Comparing texts is therefore very easy, and every line is numbered. Font size in Notepad++ can be increased simply by holding CTRL and the mouse wheel used to zoom in. Pressing F12 makes the current tab float above everything else in Windows.

For coding, Notepad++ recognizes many programming languages, and will automatically make something like HTML much easier to view by color coding the text. It also has an excellent find and replace tool. As a replacement for Window's Notepad, NotePad++ is incredible, because it has so many more features and abilities, while still being incredibly lightweight and stable.

NotePad++ is a functional application, but it won't win any prizes for looks, and many of the functions are only useful to programmers. However, anyone who writes text will find Notepad++ a useful tool, and much better than Windows Notepad.

NotePad++ has more features than you're ever likely to use, but is one of the best and most complete text editors available.

Download Notepad++ 5.9.8 in Softonic

What gVim lacks in appearance, it makes up for in functionality. Although some more aesthetically-focused users might feel that it is a little ugly, it's packed full of tools that will make editing, coding and programming a piece of cake. As well as the standard editing tools, gVim has a number of options that make using the application especially easy. The pop-out menus guarantee easy access, while the tiered interface makes working from multiple documents even easier.

Ultimately, gVim is suitable for any job that needs a text editor, but it does look a little intimidating and that could put prospective users off. It's a powerful tool that you'll need time to get used to, but if you put the effort in, you'll be rewarded with an impressive - and free - editing tool. gVim comes bundled with another version of the program - gVim Easy - which is the same tool configured to make it simpler to use. This is perfect for users who need less power, or for those who want their first steps into gVim to be easy ones.

gVim: it's called the "programmer's editor" for a very good reason!

Download gVim 7.3 in Softonic

What EditPlus offers:

Syntax highlighting for HTML, PHP, Java, C/C++, CSS, ASP, Perl, JavaScript, VBScript, Python and Ruby on Rails. Also, it can be extended for other programming languages based on custom syntax files.

Seamless Web browser for previewing HTML pages, and FTP commands for uploading local files to FTP server.

Other features include Hex Viewer, HTML toolbar, user tools, line number, ruler, URL highlighting, auto completion, cliptext, column selection, powerful search and replace, multiple undo/redo, spell checker, customizable keyboard shortcuts, and more.

Download EditPlus 3.30 in Softonic

We immediately felt at ease with the WYSIWYG features of the program. You can drag and drop pictures on your page and reshuffle them around the way you want. It’s also easy to insert text boxes to add information and titles to your web page. If you’re feeling lazy, you can also use one of the available templates and tweak it to your liking. The menu bar has a button to instantly clone pages and a preview button to see how your web page looks in your favourite browser. Ready-to-use Java Script and HTML code can also be inserted into your web page in seconds.

Web Page Maker is a WYSIWYG web editor with a quick hands-on approach and accessible features. Although it only offers three types of shapes and the navigation bar feels pretty basic, the program is a great solution for beginners who want to create their own HTML pages without getting lost in technical jargon and coding.

Download Web Page Maker 3.21 in Softonic

Once installed, the application hardly takes 2 MB of space, so it's suitable even for the smallest removable drives. During our tests, we didn't miss anything from good ol' Notepad++: support for dozens of coding languages and several text file formats, syntax highlighting, ability to open multiple documents simultaneously and lots of extra tools.

The only downside to this great little application, if we're to find any, is the fact that you have to download spelling files apart if you want to use the spellcheck.

Download Notepad++ Portable 5.9.6.2 in Softonic

Download SciTE 2.25 in Softonic

Much of the work is already done for you - it features over 380 templates to choose from and many look very professional. Building the site is made easy through a simple word processing and drag-and-drop mechanisms that allows you to build web pages in no time. The program also works offline so you can create and experiment with your site before uploading any changes. If you're familiar with HTML, you can also write your own code from scratch using HTML or SiteBuilder's web page editing tools. However, it only works with Yahoo! servers so you'll need a Yahoo hosting plan too.

For those that just want to drag and drop their website together, this is a great tool although advanced users will find it pretty limited.

Download Yahoo! SiteBuilder 2.6 in Softonic

With Artisteer now you can, even if you have no idea about HTML coding or CSS designing. All you have to do is select the different elements that will be included in your template (header, columns, menu bar, buttons and the likes), customize their appearance (position on the layout, color, text font, pattern, special effects) and your template will be ready to use. It's as simple as that! What's more, the ribbon-style interface makes this WYSIWYG editor very easy and comfortable to use.

Artisteer includes several template models, though they're basically reduced to company web pages and Wordpress blogs. Besides letting you select and customize all the elements on your own, you can also use the 'Suggest' function to let the program create a random template for you – which may come in handy when you run out of ideas. Artisteer also includes tons of color schemes, header images, web backgrounds and other sorts of ready-made material.

The best thing about Artisteer is that it lets you preview changes right on its interface in real time. And when I say 'real time', I mean you can, for example, try different color schemes just by hovering your mouser over the scheme list included in the program.

When you're happy with your design, you can preview it on your favorite browser (Artisteer supports Internet Explorer, Firefox and Opera) and then export the design as an HTML document or a Wordpress theme.

Would you like to create your own web template but have no idea about HTML or CSS? Artisteer is the application you're looking for.

Download Artisteer 2.5.0.31067 in Softonic

KompoZer is based on Gecko which is the Mozilla patented framework that's behind many of their most successful products. The advantage of using gecko is that it's very fast, very reliable, and is maintained regularly by a dedicated team of programmers. It fully supports XML, CSS and JavaScript offering the best authoring platform on the market. KompoZer is designed to be extremely easy to use, making it ideal for non-technical computer users who want to create an attractive, professional-looking web site without needing to know HTML or web coding.

In addition, there are some useful debugging tools in case of page formatting problems and some tools to help you automatically publish your changes to your FTP server.

An excellent WYSIWG portable editor that makes creating websites a pleasure.

Download KompoZer Portable 0.7.10 Rev 2 in Softonic

Download PSPad 4.5.4.2356 in Softonic

PHP Designer is a complete PHP IDE (Integrated Development Environment) and PHP editor that caters for just about all your PHP coding needs but it also applies itself to HTML, CSS and JavaScript development. The main aim of PHP Designer is to boost your productivity and make your life easier. However, because of this, it's aimed more at beginners than professional editors, although there's enough there to keep the latter interested too.

Probably the main bonus of PHP Designer is the intelligent syntax highlighting which spots errors as you type, meaning less head scratching at the end of a long coding session. This applies not just to PHP but to other languages as well. Of course, PHP Designer also comes with a debugger which can test scripts for errors and suggests possible solutions although as with all debuggers, the success rate can be hit and miss according to most users.

If you're looking for a good looking PHP editor that supports plenty of other languages too, then PHP Designer may well make your life a lot easier.

Download PHP Designer 2008 6.2.5.1 in Softonic

What Vim lacks in appearance, it makes up for in functionality. Although some more aesthetically-focused users might feel that it is a little ugly, it's packed full of tools that will make editing, coding and programming a piece of cake. As well as the standard editing tools, Vim has a number of options that makes using the application especially easy. The pop-out menus guarantee easy access, while the tiered interface make working from multiple documents even easier.

Ultimately, Vim is suitable for any job that needs a text editor, but it does look a little intimidating and could put off prospective users. It's a powerful tool that you'll need to study, but if you put the effort in, you'll be awarded with an impressive - and free - editing tool. Vim comes bundled with another version of the program - Vim Easy - which is the same tool configured to make it easier to use. This is perfect for users who need less power, or for those who want their first steps into Vim to be easy ones.

Vim: it's called the "programmer's editor" for a very good reason!

Download Vim 7.3.260 in Softonic

That's the spirit that Amaya has been developed in, because Amaya is a free and open source WYSIWYG web authoring tool with browsing abilities, created by a French national research institution and later adopted by World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the main international standards organization for the World Wide Web.

What marks out Amaya is its simplicity and power - often when you use a WYSIWYG web editor, you're limited to very few design options. With Amaya, however, you're presented with an elegant and powerful web design app that allows you to create some pretty impressive websites with virtually no design knowledge. Playing with fonts, inserting objects and changing colors is as easy as creating a presentation in Powerpoint and mostly involves just dragging and shaping objects and areas with your mouse.

The main problem you'll find however is stability - Amaya crashed on me within seconds of starting but this is the price you pay for a powerful but free open source web design app.

Enjoy the original spirit and vision of web design without spending a cent with Amaya's easy to use and powerful interface.

Download Amaya 11.4.4 in Softonic

Komodo Edit offers support for just about every language out there, including Perl, PHP, Python, Ruby, and Tcl, plus JavaScript, CSS, HTML, and XML, and template languages, such as RHTML, Template-Toolkit, HTML-Smarty and Django.

Even though it's free, Komodo Edit doesn't skimp on features, and includes everything you'd expect, such as autocomplete, syntax coloring and syntax checking. Even better, it's a little like Firefox in that it supports extensions and plug-ins to extend it's capabilities.

This shouldn't come as a surprise though, because Komodo Edit is built on Mozilla code and the same licensing rules as Firefox. All of the extensions have been created by the Komodo community so, as with Firefox, you're spoiled for choice.

The overall benefits of Komodo Edit is it should enable you to write code faster and shorten the coding learning curve for those that are new to it. As with Firefox, the drawback to it is that if you overload it with add-ons, you may experience plug-in conflicts that result in crashes and actually slow down your programming.

If you're looking for a web editor designed in the same spirit as Firefox, then Komodo Edit is an excellent choice.

Download Komodo Edit 6.1.2 in Softonic