A Simple Question
On March 29, 2015, I asked a simple question on Twitter:
“When writing a post to use on a WordPress site, what do you use to write it, a text editor, a word processor, the new post screen?”
Different Approaches
I really didn’t expect to get such a multiplicity of approaches. It seems there is one major hallmark of the approach people take: ingenuity and improvisation. Oh, that’s two approaches. Bother. Well, let’s press on and see all the ways folks are formatting new posts, even including using the Add New Post screen! I’ve taken the liberty of slightly rearranging the order of the Tweets to make the narrative flow better.
- @LeonieWatson: Write in HTML in a text editor, then cut/paste into WP (where the WYSIWYG editor is disabled). HTH.
- @LeonieWatson: In the WP user profile settings it’s possible to disable the visual editor, which is what I do.
- @fitzpatrickd: @LeonieWatson Exactly the same workflow here. I also do the same for Drupal stuff by the way.
- @heydonworks: @LeonieWatson Same as Léonie normally. Sometimes in an external markdown editor like stackedit.io.
- @vavroom: I write in MS Word. Spell check there. Then copy/paste into Dreamweaver. Adjust HTML. Then copy/paste in WordPress.
- @vavroom: I apply styles in Word. Dreamweaver translates it into proper html.
- @A11YChi: I code in the New Post window, Text tab.
- @vdebolt: Sometimes BBEdit, sometimes Dreamweaver, most often the WP new post screen. Never a word processor.
- @Accessible_Info: Jarte, a free and open source wordprocessor. Then, cut and paste.
- @GWocher: The only problem with Jart is that you cannot read tables with a screen reader.
- @GWocher: Sometimes Jart won’t report the correct formatting when using insert plus F in either JAWS or NVDA. Its rare though.
- @Unuhinuii: I write it in the WP editor, using text controls from my keyboard. “html” / “visual” is #useless for me. #a11y.
- @Unuhinuii: Sigh – Twitter has the same type @a11yteam #a11y issues for me. #visual #voiceoveruser issues huh? fn-cmd-f5 3clk.
- @ewaccess: If typing: plain text editor, proof and publish using Marked 2. If Dragon: compose in Word, paste into new post screen.
- @aardrian: I write as HTML in the text view. I disable the WYSIWYG editor altogether on some sites while building.
- @steveofmaine: Struggling with that very question. I just discovered I can write and publish directly from MS Word.
- @steveofmaine: That said, nothing, absolutely nothing beats @MarsEdit for Mac. It’s like the bestest best thing ever.
- @awoods: @steveofmaine Instead of Word, use Windows Live Writer, and you’ll get better results. I write my content in plain text files.
- @jaczad: Live Writer in source mode, #Markdown in admin panel. Sometimes WYSIWYG editor #TinyMCE.
- @prakesh369: Text editor.
- @csrinivasu: New post screen but as HTML.
Different Strokes
Clearly there are different approaches to creating content for your WordPress site. Here are the text editors and other tools mentioned in the Tweets plus some additional text editors:
- Tools Mentioned in Tweets
- Stackedit – in-browser text editor
- Dreamweaver – Windows, Macintosh
- BBEdit – Macintosh
- Jarte – Windows
- Marked 2 – Macintosh
- Mars Edit – Macintosh
- Windows Live Writer
- Additional Text Editors
- TextWrangler – Macintosh
- Note Tab – Windows
- Sublime Text – Windows and Macintosh
- Vim – available for many operating systems
- TextMate – Macintosh
- Coda 2 – Macintosh
- Atom by Github – Macintosh
- Emacs – Windows and Macintosh
- Komodo Edit – Windows and Macintosh
My Experience
Dreamweaver was created by Macromedia in 1997 and I started using it while it was in beta. I continued to use Dreamweaver every day, all day, through the Adobe takeover of Macromedia in 2005 and up until 2012 when I stopped using it as an every day tool. At the moment I format my posts using the WordPress admin post screen, working exclusively in the text tab. I type out the few bits of HTML I need, but now that I’ve heard from friends about how they use text editors I’ll probably try TextWrangler again. I used BBEdit for years in addition to Dreamweaver and TextWrangler has a subset of the features of BBEdit, just enough for me. Interesting to hear what others are doing.