Markdown to HTML
Convert Markdown to HTML with a live side-by-side preview.
By Syed Mubashir Ali · Last updated
The 60-second Markdown refresher
If you only learn six marks, learn these: # for headings (more hashes, smaller heading), **double asterisks** for bold, *single* for italic, [link text](https://url) for links, a dash or asterisk at the line start for bullet lists, and 1. 2. 3. for numbered ones. That covers most documents people actually write.
Three more for the fancy stuff: > at the line start makes a blockquote, backticks mark `inline code` and triple backticks fence off a whole code block, and --- on its own line draws a horizontal rule. Tables use pipes and dashes, as the FAQ above shows. Honestly, if you can remember the first six, you can look up the rest when you need them.
Where the converted HTML actually goes
The output is plain semantic HTML, which makes it a universal donor. It fits anywhere that accepts an HTML block and inherits the destination's styling.
Blog and CMS editors
WordPress, Ghost, and most newsletter tools have an HTML or code block. Paste the converted HTML there and your post keeps the site's fonts and colours automatically, because there are no inline styles to override them.
Documentation and READMEs
Write docs in Markdown (it's what your team already does), convert when you need HTML for a help centre or an internal wiki that doesn't render Markdown. The tables and code blocks survive the trip intact.
Email templates
Email HTML is its own special mess of nested tables, so don't expect the output to be send-ready for picky clients like Outlook. But for simple formatted announcements in tools that accept HTML, it's a fast path from a Markdown draft to something readable.
How to Use Markdown to HTML
- 1Type or paste Markdown into the editor. It starts with an example showing the main syntax, so you can edit that if you don't remember the marks.
- 2Watch the Preview tab update as you type, rendered as it will look on a web page.
- 3Switch to 'HTML Source' to see the HTML code generated from your Markdown.
- 4Switch between Preview and HTML Source. Scripts and event handlers are stripped before anything is shown or copied.
- 5Press 'Copy HTML' to copy the code for a website, CMS, email template or blog post, or 'Download .html' for a complete web page you can open in any browser.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Markdown syntax is supported?
Standard Markdown plus the GitHub-flavoured extras: headings (#), bold (**text**), italic (*text*), links, images, ordered and bulleted lists, blockquotes (>), inline code and fenced code blocks (```), horizontal rules, tables and ~~strikethrough~~.
How do I make a table in Markdown?
Put the header cells between pipes, then a line of dashes, then the rows: '| Name | Price |', '| --- | --- |', '| Tea | $3 |'. Add colons to the dashes to align a column, for example '| ---: |' for right-aligned numbers.
Is the HTML safe to put on my site?
The output is sanitised with DOMPurify before it's shown or copied, so scripts, event handlers such as onclick and other dangerous markup are removed even if they were in the Markdown. If you convert Markdown written by other people on your own site, sanitise it there too.
Does the HTML include styling?
The copied HTML doesn't: it's clean, semantic HTML (<h1>, <p>, <ul>, <table> and so on) with no inline styles or classes, so it takes on your site's own CSS. 'Download .html' wraps it in a complete page with a little readable styling, titled from your first # heading, so it looks right when opened on its own.
Can I convert HTML back to Markdown?
Not with this tool; it converts Markdown to HTML. Markdown is easier to write and read, and HTML is what browsers display, so writing in Markdown and converting is the usual workflow.
Is my text uploaded?
No. Conversion runs in your browser with the marked library, so drafts and private notes stay on your device.
Can I paste from Word or Google Docs?
Paste it as plain text first (Ctrl+Shift+V), then re-apply the Markdown marks. Word's formatting pastes as messy HTML that the converter can't cleanly read: thirty seconds of re-marking beats an hour of debugging weird output.
About Markdown to HTML
Every README on GitHub, every Reddit post, most documentation sites. They're written in Markdown because it's the fastest way to write formatted text without touching HTML. But browsers don't read Markdown, so at some point those # headings and **bold** marks have to become real <h1> and <strong> tags. This converter does that step, live, as you type.
It speaks GitHub-flavoured Markdown, so tables, fenced code blocks and strikethrough all work, and the HTML it produces is deliberately plain: semantic tags, no inline styles, no classes. That means it picks up whatever styles your site already has instead of fighting them. Paste it into WordPress's HTML block, a newsletter tool, or a static site, and it just looks right.
Two details worth knowing. First, everything is sanitised with DOMPurify before you see it: any <script> or onclick that snuck into the Markdown is stripped, so the HTML you copy is safe to publish. Second, it all runs in your browser via the marked library, so half-finished drafts and private notes never leave your device.