‘WYSIWYG’ seems like gobbledegook, as if someone has just mashed the keyboard, but it’s actually a very important part of all modern user interfaces.
The acronym ‘WYSIWYG’ stands for ‘What You See Is What You Get’.
This acronym is not exclusively used by and for website users, it has been used previously for many different applications. However, when it relates to websites, it refers to a user interface that allows you to edit the look and content of a page or file.
Whatever edits you make using this user interface will display the same way when the final output is displayed.
The most commonly used example of ‘WYSIWYG’ is the editing suite within Microsoft Word.
As things that were previously only accessible to tech people become more accessible to all the use of ‘WYSIWYG’ becomes more and more popular.
All CMSs will work with ‘WYSIWYG’ to varying degrees. Some website creators also work with ‘WYSIWYG’ – examples being Squarespace and Wix.
Published: 2nd Feb 2024