An outstanding free code editor supporting HTML, CSS, PHP, and more with a customisable interface, perfect for web development and SQL file editing.
Open source software has to be one of the best things about the internet, and one of the best applications I have downloaded for free is the code editor NotePad++ for Windows.
It supports multiple languages including HTML, CSS and PHP, which is widely regarded as the holy trinity of web design. It supports javascript too.
I started out using Adobe Dreamweaver for most of my website design and development, mainly because it is a What You See is What You Get (WYSIWYG) editor useful for checking HTML containers.
Notepad++ is not a WYSIWYG editor, which is fine if I already know what line of code needs changing without having to load up the much slower Dreamweaver. When working on WordPress sites, the files I edit the most are wp-config.php, style.css and functions.php.
Sometimes I create plugins for WordPress and Notepad++ works absolutely fine, especially if there’s no visual dashboard for the plugin which means no CSS and no visual referencing is needed.
By the way, if you need to edit SQL files, get Notepad++ for that too. I like to open two SQL databases side by side to compare the code:
You can get to this view by right clicking the tab of an open file and choosing Move to Other View. Very handy.
The graphical interface is entirely customisable if you want to increase font size and change colours.
Summary: The Only Notepad for Me
Notepad++ goes way beyond the standard Windows notepad (even though I use both) because it will show bad syntax or broken code that I may have missed.
It’s fast, lightweight and free. Another excellent addition to any webmaster’s toolbox and an example of how great the internet can be for acquiring understated, modest but powerful free software.