Markdown to HTML Converter

Transform Markdown syntax into clean, semantic HTML markup.

Input

Output

Examples

Basic formatting

# Hello World

**Bold text** and *italic text*

- Item 1
- Item 2

With code

# Code Example

```javascript
const hello = 'world';
```

Inline `code` here.

What is Markdown and Why Convert to HTML?

Markdown is a lightweight markup language created by John Gruber that uses plain text formatting to create rich documents. It's the standard for README files, documentation, forums (Reddit, Stack Overflow), and blogging platforms. Markdown's simplicity makes writing faster than HTML.

Converting Markdown to HTML is essential for web publishing. While Markdown is human-friendly for writing, browsers render HTML. This conversion bridges the gap, letting authors write in clean Markdown while delivering properly structured HTML to users.

GitHub-flavored Markdown (GFM) extends standard Markdown with tables, task lists, strikethrough, and syntax-highlighted code blocks. This tool supports GFM features, ensuring your GitHub documentation renders identically when converted to HTML for other platforms.

How Markdown to HTML Conversion Works

The converter parses Markdown syntax into an abstract syntax tree (AST), then transforms it into HTML elements. Headings (#, ##) become <h1>, <h2>, bold text (**text**) becomes <strong>, and links [text](url) become <a> tags.

Special characters are automatically escaped to prevent XSS attacks. User-generated Markdown containing <script> tags or javascript: URLs is sanitized, making the output safe for web pages without additional filtering.

Code blocks get proper syntax highlighting classes. Triple backticks with a language identifier (```javascript) generate <pre><code class="language-javascript"> allowing syntax highlighters like Prism or highlight.js to apply color themes.

Common Markdown to HTML Use Cases

Blog and CMS publishing: Write blog posts in Markdown for speed and simplicity, then convert to HTML for WordPress, Ghost, or custom CMS systems. Markdown's portability means content isn't locked to one platform.

Documentation sites: Convert README.md files to HTML for project documentation websites. Tools like Jekyll, Hugo, and MkDocs do this automatically, but manual conversion helps when customizing output or integrating with non-Markdown-aware systems.

Email newsletters: Many email marketing platforms accept HTML but not Markdown. Convert your Markdown drafts to HTML for MailChimp, SendGrid, or custom email templates while maintaining consistent formatting.

Static site generation: Transform Markdown content files into HTML pages for static sites. This enables version control for content (Markdown in Git) while serving optimized HTML to visitors.

Markdown Best Practices for Clean HTML Output

Use semantic Markdown elements correctly: # for main titles (H1), ## for sections (H2), ### for subsections (H3). This creates proper heading hierarchy in HTML, improving SEO and accessibility for screen readers.

Reference images with descriptive alt text: ![Descriptive text](url) generates <img alt="Descriptive text"> ensuring accessibility. Alt text is crucial for visually impaired users and helps with image SEO.

Prefer reference-style links for readability: [text][ref] at the top, [ref]: url at bottom keeps Markdown clean while generating identical HTML. This is especially helpful for documents with many links.

Escape HTML entities when needed: Use \ to escape Markdown syntax when you need literal asterisks or brackets. The converter handles this correctly, ensuring your intent is preserved in the HTML output.

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