HotDog 4.5 HTML Editor, released in 1997 by Sausage Software, was the go-to tool for a lot of early web builders who wanted to hand-code without getting lost in raw text editors. It built on the success of HotDog Pro 3.0 from the mid-’90s, adding a cleaner interface, built-in site management, and instant previews that felt game-changing at the time. Back then, Dreamweaver was just starting to flex, but HotDog 4.5 hit the sweet spot for hobbyists and small businesses who wanted control without the bloat. It was lightweight, fast, and gave you exactly what you needed to crank out those late-’90s websites—frames, tables, GIFs, and all—before WYSIWYG editors took over.