What Is WYSIWYG? Meaning, Characteristics, and Functions

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  • WYSIWYG is defined as a software’s UI that gives users a real-time view of the edits made on a display that exactly resembles the final published result.
  • It is a shortened form of ‘What You See Is What You Get’ and is generally pronounced as wiz-ee-wig.
  • This article explains the principles of WYSIWYG, its characteristics, and its functions.

What Is WYSIWYG?

WYSIWYG is a shortened form of ‘What You See Is What You Get’ and is generally pronounced as wiz-ee-wig. In computing, WYSIWYG refers to a software’s UI that gives users a real-time view of edits made on a display that exactly resembles the final published result.

For instance, Microsoft Word refers to a word processor that provides a WYSIWYG-type interface. Word processors display different document configurations, such as font size, pagination, or line breaks, as they appear when printed on any paper or sheet. Apple Pages is another example of a WYSIWYG editor. 

Before WYSIWYG editors, developers used descriptive or markup codes that failed to give an instant view of markup results. This led to the development of the first WYSIWYG editor, a word-processing tool named ‘Bravo.’ It was invented in the 1970s by Charles Simonyi while working at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center. The editor further led to the development of two key applications of Microsoft Office: Word and Excel.

The term WYSIWYG was originally used to refer to programs that yielded physical output. However, the term has been used to explain applications that generate software output over time. For example, like the word processors discussed above, WYSIWYG editors are employed across web development programs, which typically show the structure of web pages as the web developer creates them. The developer can now make changes and manipulate text and images around the page to appear exactly the way he wants before publishing the page on the web. Thus, as the page gets published on the web, it resembles how it looked in the web development program.

Also, it is worth noting that web developers cannot ensure that the web page will appear the same in different browsers like Firefox or Internet Explorer. Still, WYSIWYG editors give developers a fair idea of how the web page will look when it gets published by manipulating content or layout without giving any specific commands.

Apart from word processors and web publishing applications like blogging, WYSIWYG is used across several modern applications such as content management systems, customer relationship management (CRM) systems, email systems, etc. According to Jan 2023, data published by G2, some of the best WYSIWYG editors include TinyMCE, Froala Editor, Summernote, Maqetta, Adobe Dreamweaver, and so on.

Advantages of WYSIWYG editing

WYSIWYG editing presents several advantages to its users. Let’s take a look at the benefits of using WYSIWYG editors.

  1. Usability: Several WYSIWYG editors have a drag-and-drop feature that allows users to add or remove different software components such as text, images, and videos. When we consider website-building applications, developers with less knowledge of web programming can also easily create intuitive web pages.
  2. Efficiency: WYSIWYG editors are much more efficient and faster to work with than programming each page from scratch, as developers need to switch between screens to preview the page under development. Moreover, with such editing tools, users can focus on the applications’ design rather than worrying about their technicalities.
  3. Changes on the fly: WYSIWYG design tools give enough flexibility to their users as one can make minor changes to the software immediately. For instance, if you feel that the video window on your webpage is out of position, then by using WYSIWYG editing, you can fix it within a few clicks. Additionally, it allows users to maintain their site up-to-date. 
  4. Detect and rectify mistakes: With WYSIWYG editors, it is easier to identify mistakes as you need not go through several lines of code every single time. Moreover, resolving these mistakes happens quickly once it gets detected.
  5. Kickstart with templates: Several WYSIWYG editors allow you to choose from multiple available templates to kickstart the development process. As a result, the users can focus on developing content that suits their audience rather than worrying about the initial stages of the development cycle.

See More: What Is Unit Testing? Types, Tools, and Best Practices

Characteristics of WYSIWYG

While different WYSIWYG editors offer different characteristics, many of these have common attributes that are vital for users. Let’s discuss some key characteristics of WYSIWYG editing that are generally observed in good editors.

WYSIWYG Characteristics

1. Versatility

Apart from basic styling and writing features, most WYSIWYG editors have additional specifics such as tables and copy-paste functionality. Tables include facilities to merge cells, add or remove columns and rows, apply styles, etc. Additionally, copy-paste refers to the option that allows the copying of diverse content, including emojis, from one document to another, like Word to Google Docs. It helps in the reuse of content.

Moreover, WYSIWYG editing is centered around user-facing features related to media files, wherein image uploading or media embedding have a crucial role. Such features ensure the editors can offer all features in one package rather than combining multiple external tools. 

With such versatile characteristics, WYSIWYG editors fulfill a wide range of purposes, and you need not start from scratch every time you require an additional feature. Also, such multi-functional editors are important when users intend to mix different documents with different formats. For example, combining two documents with differently numbered and bulleted lists with some form of indentation. Such solutions drive positive user experience as the UI features align with the user’s needs. 

2. UI customization and easy integration

Good WYSIWYG editors are easy to customize and integrate depending on the user’s needs. It provides a better development experience as you can customize the editors by selecting different features, plugins, or UI language that suits you and your audience.

With custom plugins, you can integrate the editor with your specific application. Moreover, such customizable editors have well-designed architecture and APIs and the required documentation and resources that guide you through the whole customization and integration process. 

3. Open source vs. commercial licenses

Open source software is beneficial for freelancers, startups, and corporations. It is also budget-friendly if its terms and conditions suit your policies. However, if it fails to meet your expectations, upgrading to the commercially licensed version of the editor is always worthwhile.

This can be advantageous when compared to an open-source setup. You need not share your source code with the external public in a licensed version. Also, your software doesn’t have to be compatible with the editor licenses. However, open-source software has to fulfill such a requirement. 

Another vital aspect is that of support. With a commercial license, a dedicated support team ensures that you integrate the editor correctly and can help you in case of any technical issues. However, open source does not warrant such support.

4. Real-time collaboration

With the growing work-from-home and hybrid culture, online collaboration and collaborative writing has become an inevitable feature of WYSIWYG software. For instance, applications like Google Docs foster real-time collaborations. It allows multiple users to edit and add comments or suggestions. Moreover, it also has ready-to-use plugins supported by backend cloud and on-premise solutions. Many modern WYSIWYG solutions are enabled with features that drive collaborative work environments. 

5. Interoperability with apps and environments

An editor’s interoperability is based on the browsers, operating systems, and development environments it can truly support. However, interoperability is also decided on the integration capability of the editor. For example, the easier an editor can merge with popular Javascript frameworks like React, Angular or Vue.js or CSS frameworks like Bootstrap, the better the WYSIWYG tool. Such integrations allow users to start working with the editor rather than figuring out ways to integrate it with specific frameworks and platforms. 

Interoperability is also related to the output produced by the editor. The situation is commonly observed when users intend to reuse the content and are only concerned about the editor’s output. The HTML output differs in quality considerably when compared to the WYSIWYG editors. Based on the quality, the editor’s output is rated as ‘fit for consumption’ when content reuse is the prime focus.

6. Development, documentation, and communication

Determining the quality of editors imply that you need to deep-dive into its software code. Parameters like the number of developers working on the project, the commit frequency and history, code coverage, tests, project dependencies, editor update frequency, features included in new releases, and so on decide the quality of the editor. All this information is generally provided through blog posts, press releases, and notes.

Good WYSIWYG editors tend to have well-written documentation, code examples, working samples, and other materials. Such information guides users through the integration, configuration, and implementation phases while using the editors. Moreover, sharp documentation allows you to learn more about the backend technologies behind the editor.

Another important characteristic of the WYSIWYG editor is its good community support, which has a role to play in project communication. For example, sites like GitHub and StackOverflow reveal the responsiveness of the editor’s creators and the community. The type of discussions that unfold on such platforms can reveal how easily bugs or issues are resolved when users encounter them.

Hence, code development, documentation, and communication are the backbone of any good WYSIWYG interface.

7. Extensibility

Specific businesses require flexible and open editors for innovation. To meet the business requirements, some editors enable the development of their own extensions by viewing the source code. An editor’s extensible property allows users to broaden the scope of functionality to meet unique business demands. Many editors use APIs to write specific functions that fit within the existing framework. 

See More: What Is OOP (Object Oriented Programming)? Meaning, Concepts, and Benefits

Functions of WYSIWYG

Today, WYSIWYG editing principles are essential for word processors and websites of all types. These programs allow users to use software’s functions without having to write explicit codes. Let’s understand some key functions WYSIWYG editors offer for applications like word processing and web design.

  1. Font: If we look at the web applications specifically, the font options were minimal during its initial days. Even for word processing software, some fonts were already installed as standard additions on computers. These include Times New Roman, Verdana, and Arial. As a result, developers and web designers did not have many fonts to play with. Also, it was difficult to determine whether specific fonts could be displayed on different operating systems and browsers. Today, such problems hardly exist, and users are allowed to choose from a multitude of fonts.
  2. Font style: Font style refers to different styling patterns such as italics, bold, underlined, or crossed out that are applied to various fonts. When users create HTML code or work with word processing software, they need not update text manually. Instead, users can just highlight the text requiring change and edit it with the help of ready-to-use options like bold, etc.
  3. Layout: A website’s appearance largely depends on the print space and white space (space around web page content). Developers and web designers place content to add some styling pattern to the document or webpage and to help direct the visitor’s attention to specific web elements. Without the WYSIWYG principles, programmers would end up defining the white space area in pixel terms.
  4. Structure: Like printed texts, web content follows a structured style that allows visitors to navigate easily. WYSIWYG editors guide users through the text by adding titles, headings, and subheadings wherever required.
  5. Tables: Similar to word processing software, web content can be organized better by adding lists and tables. With WYSIWYG tools, you can insert elements wherever needed rather than writing codes for them.
  6. Media: Word processors and websites contain different elements like texts, images, videos, and other graphical objects. Such content can be appropriately displayed on the web when developers embed it within the HTML code. However, a WYSIWYG HTML editor accomplishes this task with ease. In several cases, WYSIWYG interfaces allow simple drag-and-drop functionality, allowing objects to be placed at designed positions.

Apart from content design, several WYSIWYG editors support other functions like directly publishing content via the editor on the website. Project organization is another function where the editors display the website’s subpages on a sidebar. Moreover, editors also support switching between the WYSIWYG and code views that suit the programmers.

See More: What Is Agile Software Development? Life Cycle, Methodology, and Examples

Takeaway

The WYSIWYG editing framework hides the code in the background and allows users to focus on the design and layout of the content. Such editors, whether word processors or HTML editors, allow end users to view their end product’s appearance before launching, completing, or publishing the final product.

While several WYSIWYG editors are in the market, choosing the right WYSIWYG editor depends on the task and your preference. Each editor is suitable for specific tasks. For instance, Quill editor is best suited when you want to build a user-friendly UI, while Zesty.io goes well when building apps, websites or single-page applications.

Hence, while selecting the WYSIWYG editor, weighing in on parameters like your design style, tasks you intend to accomplish, and whether the editor fits into your business model is crucial.

Did this article help you understand the basics of WYSIWYG? Comment below or let us know on FacebookOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , or LinkedInOpens a new window . We’d love to hear from you!

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