Best PHP/HTML Code Editor/IDE to use

65 replies
Hello,
I am kind of new to php, but not to web design, I am looking for the best IDE to use for PHP & Web design. I have used VWD, but I really don't think it is that good, and provides no PHP support natively (though there are paid plugins that allow php application debugging). I have a little experience with netbeans and a little with Zend Studio. I wanted to know if there are any options that really stand above all of the others. On feature I really like is being able to work directly on the server.

I have worked extensively with dreamewaver becuase I think the live preview is awesome, though I don't think I'll have that option with PHP apps. I also liked Cloud 9 (cloud IDE) but it isn't amazing. Price is also not an issue.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions
#code #editor or ide #php or html
  • Profile picture of the author kamirao
    I was a big fan of vim for all my php/html projects before I recently discovered 'sublime text 2'. It is really lightweight. It has features of a standard IDE like file explorer, code completion, indentation etc.

    You can buy a license but unregistered version has all the features except it just annoys you sometime with a dialog box when saving a file.

    If you want a wysiwyg editor, then sublime is not an option.
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    • Profile picture of the author protechig
      Originally Posted by kamirao View Post

      I was a big fan of vim for all my php/html projects before I recently discovered 'sublime text 2'. It is really lightweight. It has features of a standard IDE like file explorer, code completion, indentation etc.

      You can buy a license but unregistered version has all the features except it just annoys you sometime with a dialog box when saving a file.

      If you want a wysiwyg editor, then sublime is not an option.
      It isn't really the whsiwyg part that I liked, I just liked to be able to preview my changes without leaving dream Weaver, I prefer to hand code my stuff. Is there a way to live preview in browser, and work directly on the server, versus local and remote versions.

      Also, where is a good place for me to learn net beans?
      Thanks
      zach
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  • Profile picture of the author GilGarcia
    Ive used a looooot of IDEs,

    Right now - notepad++ for quick edits,
    Netbeans for daily programming,

    You can try PHPStorm, but i didnt enjoy it for some reason,
    PHP Designer (I believe?) had some really cool features - but it also had a super annoying bug with the themes, and it kept reseting them all the time, but maybe it was just on my machine.
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  • Profile picture of the author goosefrabah
    I personally use Netbeans as well, it's free, lightweight and has some awesome plugins as well.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jennycall
    I'm a PHP developer and now I use Notepad++ for code editing, but lately I've been searching for an IDE to ease my work.

    This is what I'm looking for:
    FTP support
    Code highlight
    SVN support would be great
    Ruby and JavaScript would be great
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  • Profile picture of the author Jennycall
    I'm a PHP developer and now I use Notepad++ for code editing, but lately I've been searching for an IDE to ease my work.

    This is what I'm looking for:
    FTP support
    Code highlight
    SVN support would be great
    Ruby and JavaScript would be great
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  • Profile picture of the author weaveronline
    I use Netbeans for php
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  • Profile picture of the author Nassim0x09
    Eclipse << best one !
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  • Profile picture of the author PhilTurpin
    I cut my teeth in the corporate world on an Eclipse based IDE (Websphere Development Studio Client). So Eclipse was a natural progression for me. I've tried Netbeans but couldn't get on with it (there was nothing wrong with it but I was just used to Eclipse).

    The Eclipse project's don't include a specific PHP distro now (as far as I'm aware). Instead you'd be better off using the Javascript distro and adding in the PDT (PHP Development Tools).

    To be fair, using Eclipse is probably overkill (although I'd still use it every time) and would probably take some learning and configuring, by installing modules etc., to get it working. An alternative is Aptana Studio which works out of the box (you'll want version 2 not 3 though - unless they've now inlcuded PHP support in v3).

    Either way, any Eclipse based IDE is certainly not what you'd call 'lightweight' but it is very versatile (my own setup can handle PHP dev with Javascript but is also setup to enable Android development in Java - including emulators, debuggers etc.).

    FWIW, if I'm writing code on a Windows box I'd use Notepad++ for quick edits and Eclipse for a 'proper session'. But I use Linux so I don't
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    • Profile picture of the author chinny
      PHP Apps? What do you mean?

      I still use DW and it works very good, also now you have SVN included which is in my oppinion what was missing.

      I also use PHPStorm which sometimes is a bit messy suggesting but it is a matter of setting the options .
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  • Profile picture of the author deejayundoo
    I'm using ActiveState Komodo IDE 6 for all codes.
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  • Profile picture of the author Craftisy
    Try Notepad2 for coding - it's the best
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  • Profile picture of the author rahulkashyap
    use PSPad this is great software i like it
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  • Profile picture of the author seotools
    I have used Zend Studio and Dreamweaver both are good. Dreamweaver helps you in designing as well.
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  • Profile picture of the author imsirigiri
    Use Sublime Text.

    I love it's look and as well as it's ease of use. Install trial version and check for yourself.
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  • Profile picture of the author msu
    I like Code Lobster (codelobster.com) - nifty PHP editor and selection of plugins for WordPress, jQuery, Facebook, etc.
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  • Profile picture of the author dfxgrid2
    Use notepad++
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  • Profile picture of the author dfxgrid2
    Notepad++ is BY FAR the best, even has built in FTP
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    • Profile picture of the author Eric Seiler
      Notepad++ seems to work better for one-off files or small projects.

      Netbeans works well for larger web apps as it integrates well with some PHP frameworks (Zend, Symphony) as well as having some nice project management features.

      I tried Eclipse a couple years ago, but found Netbeans easier to learn from a newbie point of view.

      If you aren't working with a team of coders, really it is whatever you are most comfortable with. It is worth trying out a few to see which one you prefer. Both Eclipse and Netbeans are widely used among PHP developers. Almost everyone who develops on a Windows machine has run across notepad++ if they've been around long enough.
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  • Profile picture of the author patrickarmstrong
    I've been using Netbeans recently. It's free and has alot of features (which I've not fully explored yet) Brings in function descriptions etc for PHP and tips for CSS etc to speed things up.
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  • Profile picture of the author belgirjackson
    Best PHP and HTML editors :-
    1. PHP plus
    2. Gedit
    3. Edit plus
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  • Profile picture of the author registriransum
    Try KOMODO, it is one of the best editors i have used. And the most i like there is that i can change my background to black color and my eyes are not getting so tired
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  • Profile picture of the author CoursesWeb
    Hi,
    After testing various editor programs, I decided to use Notepad++, because it is simple, and with some plugins installed does what is necessary.
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  • Profile picture of the author xrampage16
    I am a Drupal and Wordpress developer. I used to use Notepad++ for all of my editing, but it was missing a few things that I needed, and my co-worker was using jEdit to do all of his coding in.

    I downloading it, and started developing it, and haven't gone back to jEdit since. It's nice since it has the custom modules that you can install in it to get your own look and feel.

    If you decide to give it a try, make sure to install BufferTabs, CssEditor, PHPParserPlugin, Sidekick at a minimum. I have more installed than that, but that'll at least give you the traditional developer look and feel you may be wanting.

    It has the ability to use FTP, as well as SVN. The PHP Parser is pretty cool, since it'll give you some feedback on if your syntax is incorrect when you save. There are a whole slew of additional modules to get your feet wet
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    • Profile picture of the author Steveorevo
      Depends if you are a developer or designer (or both). Best commercial for designer would be Adobe Dreamweaver. Best free for developers would be NetBeans. If you do a lot of WordPress you might want to search these resources:

      "Using Dreamweaver for WordPress & Development"
      serverpress.com/news/using-dreamweaver-for-wordpress-design-and-development

      "Using NetBeans for WordPress Debugging & Development"
      serverpress.com/news/using-netbeans-for-wordpress-debugging-development
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  • Profile picture of the author callcommissionjoe
    You cant go wrong with Komodo Edit it's free very light weight and ha lots of cool plugins
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    • Profile picture of the author dany0436
      I would suggest you "Dreamweaver". You will get a perfect experience after using this one software.
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  • Profile picture of the author BlackWar
    Banned
    Notepad++ is better if have basic on PHP, otherwise use PHP Plus. This one also good.
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  • Profile picture of the author CtrTard
    PHPEd from NuSphere is IMO the best editor out there. But it's expensive.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rustik
    I use Codelobster PHP Edition
    It is free and has all features that i need.
    Also it updates very often.
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    • Profile picture of the author dawidtailor
      This is best way to create best code editor and you have to use this editor for developing best website. I like to use HTML code editor and also use some another editors.
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  • Profile picture of the author studiesinn
    Notepad++ is good!!
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  • Profile picture of the author Sensei.Design
    IF you are a Mac user you definitely should get Coda 2 which was recently published but if you are working with windows I suggest you go for phase5. I've been working with phase for like 5 years now on my windows machine
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  • Profile picture of the author anconsoft
    I'm using Komodo IDE 6 for PHP, JS and CSS and works great for all.
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  • Profile picture of the author protazy
    I love NetBeans but Aptana Studio is also good for html, css, js, php and many more languages, has good support for js libraries like jquery or prototype.
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  • Profile picture of the author John Ayling
    I'm generally a .NET C# Programmer - but for PHP I tend to use Dreamweaver and anything more advanced I go for PHP Designer.

    PHP Designer gives great intellisense for PHP classes, as well as debugging.

    Thinking of trying NetBeans though after reading some of the above posts - have used with Ruby on Rails- but sounds promising for PHP, and it's free I believe.
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  • Profile picture of the author Terry Crim
    For a php ide I would recommend PHPStorm by jetbrains. It is a Java based program but is a top notch ide for programming php and html / js.
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  • Profile picture of the author rising_sun
    Banned
    I am using "DreamWeaver(DW)",all in one because I know it very well.I can use it for PHP,HTML,CSS.
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  • Profile picture of the author annife polak
    I use PSpad really light program. But sometimes I use netbeans - great functionality (ftp connection)
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  • Profile picture of the author IronMike
    Seconding Sublime Text as a really great code editor. I used to use Notepad++ but now I never look back.
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  • Profile picture of the author cutegirl36
    If you pro, you may use notepad, i'm not pro, i'm use Dreamweaver ^^!
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  • Profile picture of the author Techology
    Can anyone recommend a free wysiwyg editor? I have been using HTML Kit for a long time but have to switch between code and view. Others I have tried add line breaks with no control, breaking HTML.

    Thanks for any pointers.
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    • Profile picture of the author jiffyspop
      well when I am using my linux box i use the terminal and nano to code but some times nano has space or enter probs so you have to double check i do use notepad or bluefish but mostly nano if on windows i use putty with nano I do have the adobe master collection i use that when i feel lazy to code. But I mostly use it for graphics
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    • Profile picture of the author Carl Potts
      Originally Posted by Techology View Post

      Can anyone recommend a free wysiwyg editor? I have been using HTML Kit for a long time but have to switch between code and view. Others I have tried add line breaks with no control, breaking HTML.

      Thanks for any pointers.

      Kompozer should do the trick there
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  • Profile picture of the author ernestrategos
    I use Komodo IDE and I love it! sometimes I use Dreamweaver, also great.
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  • Profile picture of the author RedJohn473
    Notepad++ - its amazing it should come with windows as standard
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  • Profile picture of the author advocatekabir
    I think PHP designer is most effective for html or PHP coding.
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  • Profile picture of the author dylanrodriguez2012
    Banned
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  • Profile picture of the author Edward Floyd
    I've heard nothing but good things about Sublime 2 but personally I just use Notepad++ as it does everything I need.
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  • Profile picture of the author wayfarer
    I just use Eclipse. It has a pretty good PHP editor, which I need. But the real reason I need it is because it has more usable Python editor than my last IDE, Netbeans. It also has the best editor for doing Android development, which I may move into more. Eclipse is the only way to go for doing Android, unless you use a framework like Appcelerator or Corona.

    So I really recommend you choose an editor for more than just PHP. You never know what you might need to do next.
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  • Profile picture of the author jmartinez
    If you want an IDE something eclipse based can be good though a bit bloated. Aptana Studio seemed pretty good which is eclipse based. I've been trying to use eclipse more often for the code completion and snippets. I love how eclipse snippets work. But, generally for web development a text editor (jEdit) and firebug is all I usually need.
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  • Profile picture of the author websoft
    Eclipse helio IDE is the best PHP IDE ever I used!
    Why it best! simply read features below that makes it standout from rest!!
    1. Open source and free
    2. Inbuilt debugging support with xdebug and zend debugger
    3. Inbuilt code comparison between two files
    4. Local source safe. Well this means you don't need to use source safe for this. Eclipse maintains source code changes and if needed, it will retrieve any version of previous working code for you
    5. Lots of plugin support

    I hope this helps choose best IDE for PHP development.

    Just google for eclipse helio and very first site in organic search result will take you to site you're looking for!
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  • Profile picture of the author Steveorevo
    For working with WordPress, take your pick: serverpress.com/tag/ide/
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  • Profile picture of the author nudelkuchen
    Im using Netbeans and Notepad++ for quick edits
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  • Profile picture of the author tuneri2000
    You can try and use ECLIPSE is a good IDE, it support SVN plugin, and it is free to use.
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  • Profile picture of the author fixie
    I use dreamweaver for it's intelisense function. I haven't used any other editors so far. I'm perfectly happy with it
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  • Profile picture of the author rajeevrla
    I always use Notepad++ It has auto completion, indentation, color coding, code hinting. It is very easy to code PHP, HTML, CSS here.
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    Have a great day!

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  • Profile picture of the author diklon
    TS Webeditor (tswebeditor) is best PHP/HTML Code Editor/IDE.
    This features is:
    code completion, code hint for functions, php debugger, unicode .

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  • Profile picture of the author svistak
    I'm using Notepad++ it's simply clever
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  • I would personally recommend PHP. Its the best.
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  • Profile picture of the author FredBliss
    I have tried other ones, but Dreamweaver remains my tool of choice. Especially since syntax highlighting AKA "intellisense" was introduced a while back.
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  • Profile picture of the author whiterock
    According to me best editor is dreamweaver for the php programming because its provide easy to navigate creation of form and design
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