Over recent years, there's been a surge in the popularity among the best website builder software. No need to learn how to code, just use these services, drag and drop images, type in some text, et voila! Your website is ready in next to no time.
But while the likes of WordPress, and Wix are incredibly popular, there is still room for more traditional HTML editing software, especially if you want a site that loads fast and doesn’t have any extraneous code potentially bogging it down. This is where the likes of CoffeeCup Free HTML Editor (opens in new tab) comes into its own.
- Want to try CoffeCup Free HTML Editor? Check out the website here (opens in new tab)
As you might guess – but not necessarily expect – from the name, CoffeeCup's software is an HTML editor in the purest sense of the word. There's no visual editor, no dragging and dropping of elements, and none of the other such luxuries you might find in other tools.
Does this make it a bad program? Absolutely not. You won't be left adrift in a basic Notepad-style sea of code – CoffeeCup Free HTML Editor lets you preview what you're coding, there's FTP support for uploading files, and there's a smattering of wizard-driven tools to speed up the creation of certain elements. Crucially for users on a budget, it's also free, but is only available for Windows.
User experience
While slightly intimidating for absolute beginners, CoffeeCup Free HTML Editor offers to help you get started by giving you the choice of creating a single web page, or designing an entire site as a project. Opting for the latter makes it easy to keep all related files together, and quickly upload changes using the integrated FTP client.
CoffeeCup Free HTML Editor does feel a little dated – and the same can be said of the bundled templates and themes – but there's support for HTML 5 and CSS3 so you can create modern websites, including responsive ones which are aware of the device that’s viewing them and respond accordingly.
If the whole concept of writing a website from scratch feels intimidating, the Theme section also includes a couple of tutorials which you can customise and transform into an actual site should you like.
But don’t expect any step by step help. If you’re not well versed in the intricacies of HTML coding, you will quickly find yourself at a loss with how to proceed further.
There are some minor annoyances, such as the fact that the free version of the program doesn't include a spell checker, constantly nags you to upgrade, and that features like the time-saving tag library are only demos. The interface isn't the prettiest thing in the world either, and offers little scope for customisation. This could be what turns some people away from what is otherwise a competent design tool.
Support
The app comes with an online quick start guide which walks you through the interface in detail, but if that isn’t enough, you also have access to the Support Centre (opens in new tab) where you can also send an email to the support team should you need to.
Final verdict
This is definitely not an app for the faint hearted. It harks back to the early days of website design, and is aimed at people who know how to code. Those who just want to create a simple site with drag and drop editing should definitely look elsewhere, but if you understand HTML, view modern conveniences with disdain, and long for the good old days, you’ll definitely find something to appreciate here.
- Check out our full guide to the best free website builders
