WYSIWYG

WYSIWYG stands for What You See Is What You Get. It describes a type of editor in which content, while being edited, looks exactly as it will after publishing: bold text, headings, lists, images and tables are visible in real time, without having to write HTML tags by hand.

How a WYSIWYG editor works

Behind the scenes, a WYSIWYG editor generates HTML corresponding to the formatting the user applies visually. Clicking the "bold" button adds the appropriate tag, inserting an image creates a graphic element, and the styling follows the CSS rules defined for the page. As a result, a non-technical person produces correctly formatted content without seeing or knowing the source code.

Advantages and limitations

The biggest advantage of WYSIWYG editors is accessibility: they let people edit content without programming knowledge, which is why they are standard in CMS systems such as WordPress and in email and site-building tools. The downside can be the quality of the generated code — convenient editors sometimes add excess or non-semantic markup, which complicates maintenance and can affect SEO and accessibility. That is why many editors offer a switch to a source view where the code can be cleaned up manually. Modern block editors combine the convenience of the WYSIWYG approach with a more structured way of organising content, reducing the typical problems of classic solutions. For publishers this means convenience; for the technical team it means choosing an editor that balances ease of use with the quality of the code it produces.