Textastic for HTML Coding on an iPad

Published October 14, 2022

If you’re considering coding a website using an iPad, Textastic is the HTML editing app to get. It’s also compatible with Macs and iPhones, but since I use the iPad exclusively to code my sites, I know it works well with iPads.

When I first considered leaving the PC environment and using an iPad exclusively, I wondered if someone could blog on an iPad. I searched around and found a couple of people who did it, so I knew it was possible. The second question was, “Is it possible for me to blog using an iPad?” Then, of course, I wondered how difficult and cumbersome it would be with me being a long-time Windows user.

Leaving Blogging Behind

Right around the time I bought the iPad, I was also getting fed up with the WordPress blogging platform. I got tired of the updates (although I know they are necessary), tired of the changes to the editor, and tired of the constant hack attempts and spam comments. Back then, I had several blogs so for each update, I had to multiply the time it took to update by the number of blogs.

After a while, I noticed that I spent more time updating WordPress, the plugins, and themes than I did putting new content on the blogs. It was a time drain. So, I decided to slowly work on converting my blogs to static websites.

Since my blogs did not have a large and active community, switching to a website made sense. Plus, way back in the beginning of my online journey, I used to code websites. So, everything old is new again.

Textastic, the Right HTML Editor

In the Windows environment, I used Notepad ++ as my HTML editor of choice. Unfortunately, it did not work on the iPad. So, I had to find a replacement. After much trial and error, I settled on Textastic. It is the perfect Notepad ++ replacement. As a matter of fact, I think I like it even better.

Textastic Features

The two features I like most about Textastic are the HTML Preview and color coded tags. There’s also a feature for the app to show HTML tag hints, but I’ve disabled that. The hints kept getting in my way.

With the configurable user interface, I can choose dark mode and a text color scheme that helps me to see exactly where a tag began and ended. For me, that’s an important feature. Let’s face it, forgetting to close a tag can create a whole world of trouble when formatting web pages.

There are several features that I haven’t used and honestly don’t know what they’re all about. What I do know is that Textastic does exactly what I want it to do, so no complaints from me.

Textastic is compatible with Mac, iPad, and iPhone. I don’t have a Mac and haven’t tried coding on the iPhone. I guess that’s something I should try when I’m bored.

Learning HTML Code

This Baby Boomer learned how to code by doing internet searches and using free online classes. I’m not a coding maven. I know just enough to get my sites to display. When I come across a need to learn something else, I search, learn and attempt it.

My latest challenge is to learn how to get my non-YouTube videos indexed by Google. I guess it’s time for me to summon up my old teachers, Ms. Trial and Mr. Error. What I like about trial and error is once you get it right, you’ll remember it for a long time. Or, in my case, I write about it so I’ll have something to refer to when I do forget. Yep, you guessed it…I’ll be writing about it here on this site.

Last Modified: 25 August 2023