Note: Some text editors (Windows Notepad included) insert UTF-8 signature (BOM) characters at the beginning of Markup coding (just preceding the Doctype) as a Unicode description marker. These characters must be removed when generating UTF encoded pages in order to preclude failed validation and Browser display of a blank line (sometimes with various characters) at the top of the web page. Visit W3C FAQ: Display problems caused by the UTF-8 BOM for detailed information including removal procedures. You can check pages to see if they begin with a UTF-8 (BOM) signature via Richard Ishida's UTF-8 BOM tester utility.
While plain text editors such as Windows Notepad can be used to write HTML Markup, those that provide more sophisticated editing features (often including writing CSS, PHP, XML, JS code, etc.) are favored by most Web Page authors. The following links are to comprehensive listings (some with evaluations) of HTML Editors:
cnet download.com HTML Editors
Wikipedia list of HTML Editors
I personally use HTML-Kit which is a free Web page Editing/Authoring facility that provides the following features:
- Can be used for hand coding ala MS Notepad
- Pre-formed constructs, elements & attributes can be used via drop-down menus
- Split-screen viewing of code generation "on the fly"
- Previewing of page layout in multi graphical Browsers
- Selection and use of Doctype headers (HTML/XHTML/XML)
- Syntax checking and correction via "Tidy" plug-in "on the fly"
- Tidy generated "pretty print" code
- Multiple File type editing: .html, .xml, .css, .rdf, .php, .js etc.
- HTML-XHTML Markup conversion
- Online .html & .css document validation "on the fly"
- Spell checker and Thesaurus
- Search and replace facility for content management
All pages are non-commercial and are
accessible to People with Disabilities
All pages have W3C Validated Markup
and Style Sheets