developer insights
State of Rich Text Editor 2021 Survey uncovers hidden hero of content creation
Published October 26th, 2021
With the worldwide explosion of content and shift towards remote-first practices, companies are increasingly investing in their tech stacks, apps and content platforms. However, what’s often overlooked is the pivotal role that rich text editors play in a tech stack, as well as how it affects the content’s user experience and performance.
Di Mace
Communications Specialist at Tiny
Rich text editors are the silent heroes of the content revolution. For decades, they’ve enhanced and evolved the way people see and read content, while quietly becoming an indispensable component within apps, platforms and sites.
For decades, they’ve enhanced and evolved the way people see and read content, while quietly becoming an indispensable component within apps, platforms and sites.
The impetus for this inaugural State of Rich Text Editor 2021 Survey, was to encourage industry-wide feedback from the developer community and product managers. Each subsequent year, further results will be openly shared and compared, to not only acknowledge the contribution the dev community has made to the evolution of rich text editors (RTEs), but also encourage further open source development.
Rich text editors are the silent heroes of the content revolution.
In its first year, nearly 500 people shared their successes and struggles and demonstrated their love of all things RTE.
The information gained includes valuable industry insights, rich editor usage patterns, tools, integrations and future trends for a component that makes crucial contributions to the agility, velocity and profitability of a company.
Big changes ahead, but not where
you think
With the advent of COVID-19, a wider gamut of companies are investing in their tech stack and platforms and trying to stay ahead of both the competition and the innovation curve. How they’re doing that, may surprise you.
The highlights
- 475 respondents
- Security is of utmost importance
- UX is the focus of most RTE challenges
- Innovative features less important than user and developer-friendliness
- Growth in API usage reflects API Economy mega trend and digital transformation
The trends uncovered
An easy configuration/start-up path is the key to adoption and success — for most developers who want to get started fast — once they’ve selected their editor of choice
Trialing different rich text editors is broadly used as a research/adoption technique, but once a decision has been reached, usage continues for at least several years
Security (and the perceived security) of a rich text editing platform is top of mind
A notable number of developers aren’t using frameworks
Most developers like to use the inbuilt API’s in their rich text editor (RTE), combined with plain HTML development
Overall, TinyMCE users are the most content with their editor (in comparison to other editors on the market)
Most rich text editor challenges centre around the user and user experience
Fancy or innovative features fall to the bottom of the list, with most favoring user- and developer-friendly features over larger innovations
Frequently asked questions
How can I read the full report?
Read and download the complete report here
Did only TinyMCE users take the survey?
No, it was open to all software professionals across various industries, roles, and geographic locations
How can I ask questions or give feedback?
Please direct questions or comments about the survey to team@tiny.cloud
I’d like to participate in the next survey. Can I sign up for alerts?
The best way to receive news about the Rich Text Editor Survey is to sign up for our monthly newsletter, below
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