Markup CityISSUE #3 of 39

picking an editor that won't fight you

Tagg the BuilderVSThe Unclosed Tag

Tagg the Builder saysAny plain-text editor can write HTML, but one with syntax highlighting and live preview saves you from silly mistakes.

HTML is just text, so technically Notepad works. In practice you want an editor that highlights tags, closes them for you, and warns when something's off — VS Code is the common pick, but anything with these features helps.

The fastest feedback loop is an editor beside a browser (or a live-preview pane, like the sandbox on this page). Type, save, see it. The shorter that loop, the faster you learn — and the sooner you catch the typo before it compounds.

Power-ups you unlock

HTML is plain text — no compiler, no build step required
Syntax highlighting + auto-close catch typos early
A live-preview loop beats save-and-refresh
Save files with a .html extension so the browser opens them

The Unclosed Tag attacks — common mistakes

Saving as .txt — the browser shows the source instead of rendering it
Using a word processor (it injects smart quotes and rich formatting)
Editing live in DevTools and forgetting those changes are not saved

Boss battleType an opening <ul> in the sandbox and watch whether your editor offers to auto-close it. Add two <li> items inside.

Example code

<!doctype html>
<html>
<head><meta charset="utf-8"><title>edit & see</title></head>
<body>
  <h1>type here, watch the right →</h1>
  <p>This pane is your live preview. Change a word.</p>
</body>
</html>

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