WYSIWYG is a technology initialism that “what you see is what you get. In the early years of the Internet, web design included a wall of complicated code that only the experienced programmer could understand — until the editor What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) was invented. WYSIWYG is pronounced “Wiz-Ee-Wig” and stands for What You See Is What You Get. Depending on the context, you can refer to various software tools and interfaces as “WYSIWYG editors.”
Finally, tech company Xerox PARC released Alto, the first PC with a WYSIWYG editor included.
What does WYSIWYG mean?
Today, the most modern publishing software enables a kind of WYSIWYG experience, whether it’s website builders, word processors, content management systems, or something else. This is achieved by providing users with an interface that allows them to visually see what their final result would look like when they build it or make changes to it. But that’s not the main attraction of WYSIWYG, namely the user’s ability to visualize what they’re producing. In any case, it wasn’t long before WYSIWYG became a common term used for computer and software user interfaces.
WYSIWYG interfaces eliminate the need for users to master complex formatting codes so they can focus on design instead.
Why are WYSIWYG used?
While non-visual editors typically have a markup language such as Markdown or BB code that is later parsed into formatted text, you can make changes to format and content on the fly with WYSIWYG editors such as Microsoft Office. Instead of writing source code manually, use a handy rich text editor where you edit design elements. The second meaning is that what you see on screen is the publisher’s result as an application to build a website, and the full WYSIWYG form is what you see what you get. Because users need to find ways to upload and send formatted content on the fly, most use WYSIWYG environments.
Which is the best WYSIWYG?
WYSIWYG Web Builder If you want your website to do something specific, there’s a good chance that WYSIWYG Web Builder 17 has an extension that can handle it. WYSIWYG editors are HTML editors that display a web page as it appears in a browser while you work on it. This beginner-friendly website builder is minimalist and easy to use, and booting is mobile friendly. Most features, including HTML 5 and CSS 3, are available without a license, but some, such as CSS Editor Pro, responsive design, and EPUB features, require a license.