How to Convert Markdown to HTML (Live Preview)

What Is Markdown?

Markdown is a lightweight markup language created by John Gruber in 2004. It was designed to be easy to read and write in plain text, while converting cleanly to structurally valid HTML. Markdown has become the standard for writing documentation, README files, blog posts, forum comments, and messaging content across the web.

The beauty of Markdown is its simplicity. Unlike HTML, where you need opening and closing tags for every element, Markdown uses intuitive punctuation characters to indicate formatting. A heading is just a line starting with hash signs, bold text is wrapped in double asterisks, and a link is a combination of square brackets and parentheses. This makes Markdown far faster to write than raw HTML while producing the same output.

Markdown Syntax Reference

Headings

Headings are created by prefixing a line with one to six hash characters. The number of hashes corresponds to the heading level:

# Heading 1    → <h1>Heading 1</h1>
## Heading 2   → <h2>Heading 2</h2>
### Heading 3  → <h3>Heading 3</h3>
#### Heading 4 → <h4>Heading 4</h4>

Text Formatting

Markdown supports bold, italic, strikethrough, and inline code:

**bold text**           → <strong>bold text</strong>
*italic text*           → <em>italic text</em>
***bold and italic***   → <strong><em>bold and italic</em></strong>
~~strikethrough~~       → <del>strikethrough</del>
`inline code`           → <code>inline code</code>

Links and Images

Links use square brackets for the display text and parentheses for the URL. Images use the same syntax with an exclamation mark prefix:

[PulpMiner](https://www.pulpminer.com)
→ <a href="https://www.pulpminer.com">PulpMiner</a>

![Alt text](image.png)
→ <img src="image.png" alt="Alt text">

[Link with title](https://example.com "Title text")
→ <a href="https://example.com" title="Title text">Link with title</a>

Lists

Unordered lists use dashes, asterisks, or plus signs. Ordered lists use numbers followed by periods. Lists can be nested by indenting with spaces:

- Item one
- Item two
  - Nested item
  - Another nested item
- Item three

1. First step
2. Second step
3. Third step

Code Blocks

Fenced code blocks use triple backticks, optionally followed by a language identifier for syntax highlighting:

```javascript
function greet(name) {
  return `Hello, ${name}!`;
}
```

→ <pre><code class="language-javascript">
  function greet(name) {
    return `Hello, ${name}!`;
  }
  </code></pre>

Blockquotes and Horizontal Rules

Blockquotes use a greater-than sign prefix. Horizontal rules are created with three or more dashes, asterisks, or underscores:

> This is a blockquote.
> It can span multiple lines.

→ <blockquote><p>This is a blockquote. It can span multiple lines.</p></blockquote>

---

→ <hr>

Markdown vs HTML

Markdown and HTML serve different purposes. Markdown is optimized for writing speed and readability in source form. It is perfect for documentation, blog posts, and any content that needs to be authored quickly. HTML gives you full control over the document structure, attributes, and presentation — but it is verbose and harder to read as raw source text.

Most Markdown processors also allow embedding raw HTML directly within Markdown content. This means you can use Markdown for the majority of your content and drop down to HTML when you need features Markdown does not support, such as tables with complex formatting, custom CSS classes, or embedded media.

Live Preview

One of the most useful features of a Markdown converter is live preview. As you type Markdown in the editor, the rendered HTML updates in real time. This immediate feedback loop makes it easy to experiment with formatting, verify link syntax, and ensure your content looks exactly the way you want before publishing.

Live preview is especially helpful when working with tables, nested lists, or complex formatting where the Markdown syntax can be tricky to get right on the first try. Seeing the output immediately eliminates the trial-and-error cycle of editing, saving, and refreshing.

How to Use the Markdown to HTML Converter

Open the Markdown to HTML converter and follow these steps:

1. Write or paste Markdown into the input editor on the left side.
2. See the live preview — the rendered HTML output updates instantly as you type.
3. Copy the HTML — switch to the HTML source view to copy the generated HTML code for use in your projects.
4. Use in your workflow — paste the clean HTML into your CMS, email template, or web page.

The converter supports all standard Markdown syntax including headings, text formatting, links, images, lists, code blocks, blockquotes, and tables. It runs entirely in your browser with no data sent to any server.

Ready to convert Markdown? Open Markdown to HTML