How to Convert Markdown to HTML

Markdown is a plain-text format that uses simple symbols for formatting, so # Title becomes a heading and **word** becomes bold. It is easy to write, but the web speaks HTML. This guide shows how to turn your Markdown into clean HTML, what each symbol maps to, and why doing it locally keeps your notes private.

Why convert Markdown to HTML

Most places you publish want HTML, not Markdown. You might be pasting a draft into a WordPress Custom HTML block, building an email template, or feeding a CMS that does not parse Markdown on its own. Converting first means you control the exact markup that ships, and you can preview it before it goes live.

The common syntax mapping

The core of Markdown is a short list of symbols, and each one has a direct HTML equivalent:

Headings: # through ###### become <h1> to <h6>.
Bold and italic: **bold** becomes <strong>, and _italic_ or *italic* becomes <em>.
Links: [text](https://example.com) becomes an <a href>.
Lists: lines starting with - or * become <ul><li>, and 1. style lines become <ol><li>.
Code: backtick spans become <code>, and fenced blocks (three backticks) become <pre><code>.
Blockquotes: lines starting with > become <blockquote>.

Convert in three steps

Open Markdown to HTML and paste your Markdown.
Watch the live preview and the generated HTML update as you type.
Copy the HTML output, or grab the rendered preview to paste straight into your CMS.

Everything runs on your device. Your Markdown is never uploaded, which matters when it holds private notes, draft posts, or internal docs you would not paste into a random website.

GitHub-flavored Markdown extras

Plain Markdown covers the basics, but GitHub-flavored Markdown (GFM) adds a few things people rely on every day. Markdown to HTML understands these too:

Tables: pipe-and-dash syntax becomes a real <table> with <thead> and <tbody> rows.
Task lists: - [ ] and - [x] become checkbox list items.
Fenced code blocks: the language hint after the opening fence (like ```js) is preserved as a class, so syntax highlighters can style it.

If a table or list comes out wrong, the usual cause is spacing. GFM tables need a header row and a divider row of dashes, and list items need a space after the marker.

Need to escape angle brackets or ampersands in your output? Use the HTML Entity Encoder.
Shipping the HTML to production? Shrink it with the HTML Minifier.
Starting from plain text instead of Markdown? Try Text to HTML.

Paste your Markdown, copy the HTML, and publish anywhere in seconds.