Good question.
Can notepad ++ be used to code a fully functional non static site which is fairly complex?
When I started out I used Dreamweaver, but as everyone here has pointed out it self codes. This isn't a bad thing as everyone seems to use it when they start out and don't know any better.
I moved onto the notepad, then notepad ++. But when you start building larger sites, where you're coding in more than just HTML, you need that little bit of extra help.
As you know just one mistake can take hours to find. And you need software that can help you code in PHP, Java, Perl, VB, CSS, .NET, MySQL, and so on.
I hand code everything in Programmers Notepad 2 (search online for pnotepad). It is truely awesome.
I've been a web designer, developer and marketer for over 14 years now and I use this software every day.
Programmer's Notepad 2 is a free Notepad ++ replacement with features aimed towards those who spend their days dealing with code. On top of the basic functionality afforded by Notepad, Programmer's Notepad has code outlining, docking toolbars, tags, interactive error finding—clicking on an output error will jump you to the section of code that generated it—, quick search, syntax highlighting, and a user customizable interface which can be exported via xml files.
I hope this answers your question and good luck.