If you are just getting started with a new blog, one thing that I recommend you do is look around for the best WordPress html editor that makes it as easy as possible to create your content.
When I first got started I had a lot of trouble understanding how to use the default WordPress html editor, and I found it very frustrating to try to do simple things that you normally take for granted.
The trouble with the default WordPress editor is that it only gives you the bare minimum of choices, and it does not have the visual appeal that we are used to in progams such as Microsoft Word.
Admittedly they have improved it a lot in recent versions (they needed to), and the current version at the time of writing looks like the image below.
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Back when I was getting started I knew there had to be a better editor out there to create my content, so I started searching for plugins available to see what I could find.
I found a few and tried most of them, but there was one editor that stood out from the rest – Dean's FCKEditor For WordPress, which is a free plugin as well.
Dean's FCKEditor (above) has a variety of skins that you can choose from, one of them being a Microsoft Word type version. I use the standard skin above and it makes creating content a pleasure. But you can also choose the skin below if you prefer this style.
Some may say that there are too many options available on this toolbar, but I say it is better to have too much choice than not enough. Admittedly I don't know what all the buttons are used for, but most of them are relatively self explanatory and simple to use.
One of my favourite features is the ability to paste into notepad format, which removes any existing fonts and allows you to easily keep all of your text in your default font style. WordPress have recently added this to their default toolbar as well.
There is nothing worse than copying text from somewhere and pasting it into your editor, and having it look completely different to the rest of your text. It can sometimes be very frustrating if you are wasting time to trying to get your text looking good.
Some of the extra features of Deans FCKEditor that the default WordPress editor does not have are as follows:
- easily create tables
- use Smiley's
- add horizontal line
- insert special characters
- background color
- select all
- special templates
- cut and copy
- find and replace
There is an online version of this editor where you can try it out for yourself and play around with it at http://www.quackit.com/html/online-html-editor/
If you are not using Dean's FCKEditor then I highly recommend that you at least give it a try and see what you think. This plugin has made my job of creating content so much easier, and in my opinion it is the best WordPress html editor you will find anywhere.
I would also be interested to hear the opinions of other people and find out what they are using as well.
Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net
