Whether we’re talking about physical or digital media, written communication is always present. Those who create a lot of written content know that a text editor can be a great ally in this process. 

After all, creating, proofreading, and editing text isn’t as simple a task as it may seem. The text goes through an intense process before publication, and most people have no idea how much work it involves. One thing is certain, though, an unrevised text certainly gets a lot of attention (in the most negative way).

Besides making certain tasks easier and speeding up the work, a text editor can help you save time and optimize your future texts.

If we asked you what comes to mind when we talk about text editors, what would you say? Most people would say Microsoft Word… Are you part of this group?

If you are, don’t worry, there’s no wrong answer here. But this isn’t the only answer. Nowadays, you can find many free text editors online. Would you like to get to know them? Then, read this post to check out the top 5 options for editing your texts!

Choosing a text editor

Although many people think so, text editors are not all the same!

Certain factors may influence the choice of the most suitable text editor for your business, considering the needs, demands, and characteristics of your writing team. It’s important to notice what would be most important in your company’s daily routine in order to make the right choice.

Remote access

Remote access is directly related to online text editors and is usually the most determining factor when choosing a tool. 

Besides making it possible to work on the same project from any device connected to the Internet, working on the online text editor also offers greater security since all the changes you make are automatically saved.

This way, you can access your text on your company computer, personal laptop, or even your smartphone and edit what you need without fear of losing what you have done earlier.

Increase productivity

Have you ever considered that a good text editor can contribute to an increase in your team’s productivity? 

That’s right! Choosing a good editing tool will allow you to optimize your creation time because it can streamline the writing process by offering features such as spelling and grammar check and advanced formatting.

If you write for websites and blogs, you know how important it is to organize your text into headings, subheadings, topics, etc. If you choose the right text editor, you can include these indispensable formatting features effortlessly.

Support for collaborative work

Collaborative work is a trend that is here to stay. With this in mind, a good online text editor can be key for your team to work together without commuting or going through situations of not knowing who did what on the text.

In the same text, you can have two co-authors, a proofreader, someone in charge of branding to check if the brand’s tone of voice is correct… So there are many ways to carry out collective work, and it’s very important that one person doesn’t interfere with the work of others.

In this manner, the online text editor not only collaborates so that each person has his or her space preserved, but also generates a history of what has been done for everyone so everyone can keep track of it. 

In addition, people can modify the text by making suggestions – which are highlighted, for example, in different colors, so that they can be viewed more easily – or comments in little boxes separated from the text, which allow replies. 

Native spell checker

A native spell checker is a basic feature that most text editors feature.

Overall, the spell checker checks, in real-time, whether the words are spelled correctly or if there are any grammatical mistakes (such as verbal and noun agreement errors, for example) and suggests the correction to be made.

In some cases, you can also opt for automatic correction, i.e., when the editor recognizes a grammar error or typo, it corrects it instantly, without you having to click on anything. Is this helpful or not? 

5 free and paid text editors you can use

Now that you have seen how a good text editor can help your writing team’s daily routine, it’s time to learn about the best tools in the market and choose the one that best suits your business’ reality and needs.

1. Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word, which has been on the market for three decades, is included in the Office suite and, as we said earlier in this article, it might be the first name that comes to people’s minds when we talk about text editors.

Although it is widely used, Word has a drawback for many people: it is a paid tool. To access the Office Suite and all its features, you have to pay an annual license fee to Microsoft, which will vary according to each business scenario.

2. Libre Office

For users who can’t, or don’t want to pay an annual license fee, Microsoft has an open source package that is free and offers Office-like tools.

LibreOffice is free to install and can be used indefinitely, which might be a good option for those who like the Word format since the traditional editing features are available.

3. Google Docs

Google Docs might be the world’s most popular online text editor. Firstly, because it’s a free tool; secondly, because it’s online and anyone using it can access it from any device connected to the Internet.

To access Google Docs, you only need to create a Google account or a Gmail email. That’s it! 

Besides the fact that you can use it from anywhere and have all your edits automatically saved, this tool allows you to do collaborative work since it features great usability for proofreading, version history, and the possibility to make comments.

4. Apache OpenOffice

Apache OpenOffice is also an open-source application suite, i.e., it’s free and compatible with many operating systems. 

It’s usually a good alternative for people who like Microsoft Word because it has very similar features in its layout.

5. Dropbox Paper

Dropbox Paper is Google Docs’ direct competitor since it’s a feature that also allows you to create and store documents in the cloud for collaborative management; it’s fully online and free.

To access this tool, simply create a free Dropbox account and use the Paper feature.

Conclusion

You have seen that a text editor can be an excellent resource for optimizing your company’s writing routine. You can choose among paid and free, offline and online tools, which allow collaborative work or not. Now is the time for you to analyze which one will best suit your reality.

Once you have chosen the text editor that best suits your business’ needs and your team’s demands, it’s time to produce the content, which is the essential component of Digital Marketing strategies.

If you want to take your team’s performance to an even higher level and boost your business, make sure you check out our post that will teach you all the strategies for complete and efficient content management!