If your just starting out.
Use a wysiwyg and try and understand what the insertions are. Once you start finding out the basics, you will be finding yourself using notpad more often. It is faster and lets you make some darn pretty html.
For mass production for like links and pictures. I will use hotkeys in notepad, it just seems more efficient to use that. I do for new complex things revert to a editor. Then clean it up in notepad.
I did almost my whole site in notepad, with very little help with a wysiwyg editor. There was a few spots I wanted to see how it was done first. Once I seen the html in action, off I went.
I suggest as your learning HTML fresh, learn CSS while your at it. It will make your life much easier changing colors, sizes and positions.
Most editors clog up html with the styles. I like to use an external stylesheet. If you have an issue you don't have to wade through long lines to find one tiny mistake.