What’s The Best WordPress Content Editor In 2024?

Resources with detailed descriptions of what makes a great WordPress content editor can be hard to come by. Be that as it may, if you’re to select a WordPress text editor that’ll be the perfect fit for your project, then a clear features overview of the best out there is imperative.   

In May 2003, American developer Matt Mullenweg and English developer Mike Little released the first version of WordPress with a classic WordPress text editor. Fast forward many years later, and numerous WordPress content editors have flooded the market — each offering unique benefits and functionalities. 

Some editors are the complete package, built to meet virtually any need, for example, Froala, as you’ll see in this article. On the other hand, however, there are many substandard editors in the market today, and choosing the right one can get overwhelming. 

Thus, to help you cut through the noise, this article discusses the vital features that a great WordPress content editor should have. We’ll also look at examples of WP content editors with these functionalities. 

So, without further ado, let’s get into it.

What Are The Features Of A Great WordPress Content Editor?

Typically, the viability of a WordPress (WP) content editor is unique to the project it’s meant for. In other words, the best WP editor is one that meets your project needs and objectives. However, there are unique features that every great WP content editor must have. Some of which include:

Easy Integration

A great editor must allow easy integration into any kind of project. This involves making it easy for users to easily incorporate, whether to existing or new projects. 

Cross-Browser/Cross-Platform

A good WP content editor must also support multiple browsers and devices. Thus, you can access your projects and even make important edits on the go using a tablet or a smartphone. The world is rapidly advancing and, for this reason, such features have come to be expected.  

Modern Interface and Customization

While a modern interface doesn’t actually mean a great text editor, great editors keep up with the latest industry trends. This way, you don’t feel like you’re swapping your modern devices for an old supercomputer when you open your editor. Additionally, the best fit for your project would allow full customization according to your project needs. 

Lightweight

To ensure you’re not hurting your application’s performance by adding editing experience, your editor must be lightweight. This way, you don’t lose your loading speed.

Optimized For Mobile

Due to how common mobile devices have become, almost every application must be optimized for mobile. This includes responsive design elements and image and video resizing, for example. 

Security

With the cybercrime rate increasing exponentially every year, security has never been more critical. Another key point WordPress content editors must have a strong defense mechanism against XSS attacks, among other forms of attack. 

Limitless Formatting

Formatting functionalities are basic features for most content editors. However, great editors offer much more than just basic formatting capabilities. This can include:

• Advanced styling
• Class styling
• Markdown support
• Selection details

Accessibility

In content development, accessibility is crucial to achieving your goals. Making your content accessible to everyone, including people with temporary, situational, or permanent disabilities, is essential. In other words, your editor must possess accessibility features. Some of which include:

• 508 compliant
• Keyboard navigation
• Shortcuts
• WCAG 2.0 compliant
• WAI-ARIA compliant

Productivity

One cannot overemphasize the need for increased agility and productivity in today’s fast-paced world. That is to say that you can’t afford an editor that doesn’t boost your productivity. Great WordPress content editors have in-built features that increase productivity, such as:

• Real-time editing
• Track changes
• Mentions
• TUI advanced image editor
• Useful 3rd-party integrations

What Are Some Examples Of WordPress Content Editors? 

There are numerous WordPress text editors in the market. Although some possess similar features, each has unique functionalities built to satisfy specific user needs. 

Here are some examples:

Froala

Froala is a powerful yet lightweight WordPress content editor. Since it is written in JavaScript, it allows you to leverage the programming language’s rich text editing capabilities for your applications. In brief, some of its features include:

• Easy integration
• Full customization
• 3rd-party integrations (for example, embed.ly)
• Real-time editing
• Lightweight
• 508 compliant
• Markdown support
• WCAG 2.0 compliant
• WAI-ARIA compliant

Quill

Quill is also an open-source text editor with modular architecture and expressive API to offer users compatibility and extensibility. Here are some of its features:

• Cross-browser
• Cross-platform
• Customization
• API drive design
• Custom content and formatting

Content tools

Built by Anthony Blackshaw of Getme Limited, Content Tools is an open-source WordPress content editor built for HTML content and written in JavaScript/CoffeeScript. It possesses the following features:

• Lightweight
• Extensibility
• Flexibility
• Framework agnostic

Visual Editor

Visual Editor is a MediaWiki online rich text editor that allows users to contribute without learning wiki markup. It is written in JavaScript and PHP. It has a number of features, such as:

• Cross-browser
• HTML input
• Responsive design
• Plugins and integrations

Mercury Editor 

Mercury Editor is a full-featured editor known as the Rails HTML 5 WYSIWYG editor. According to its documentation, “this editor uses the HTML5 contentEditable features on block elements, instead of iframes.”

• HTML5 contentEditable 
• Markdown support
• Jasmine and cucumber tested
• Customization

Which WordPress Content Editor Is The Best?

Ideally, the best WordPress content editor would meet your project needs. Each editor discussed in this article has unique features that can satisfy specific user needs. However, only one possesses most of the features of a great editor — Froala. Froala boasts many powerful features that undoubtedly make it stand out among other WP content editors. From APIs and accessibility to performance and customization, Froala is way ahead of the curve.

The Froala WordPress plugin replaces WP default editors and also enhances WP content editing with fabulous features.

Therefore, if your “project needs” involve an editor with excellent security, accessibility, performance, support, and an easy-to-use interface, then Froala is your only option. 

Still haven’t made up your mind yet? Check out Why We Love A Free WYSIWYG Editor (And You Should, Too!). Additionally, you can download the WordPress Froala editor to get started.