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How to Write Markdown: A Beginner's Guide with Live Preview

2 min read •
Beginner Markdown Writing Documentation GitHub

Markdown is the simplest way to format text without a word processor. It is used everywhere — GitHub READMEs, Reddit posts, Discord messages, Notion, Slack, documentation sites, blogs, and note-taking apps. If you write on the internet, you need to know Markdown.

The good news: you can learn the entire syntax in 10 minutes.

Practice Markdown Now

Use our free Markdown Previewer — a live side-by-side editor where you type Markdown on the left and see the rendered output on the right. Perfect for learning and drafting.

Basic Formatting

Headings

# Heading 1 (largest)
## Heading 2
### Heading 3
#### Heading 4

Bold and Italic

**bold text**
*italic text*
***bold and italic***
~~strikethrough~~

bold text, italic text, bold and italic, ~~strikethrough~~

Links

[Link text](https://www.samnet.dev)
[Link with title](https://www.samnet.dev "SamNet Tools")

Images

![Alt text](https://example.com/image.jpg)
![Logo](./logo.png "Optional title")

Lists

Unordered

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

Ordered

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

Task Lists (GitHub/GitLab)

- [x] Completed task
- [ ] Incomplete task
- [ ] Another todo

Code

Inline Code

Use the `print()` function to output text.

Use the print() function to output text.

Code Block

def greet(name): return f"Hello, {name}!"

Specify the language after the opening backticks for syntax highlighting.

Supported languages: python, javascript, bash, html, css, json, go, rust, sql, yaml, and many more.

Tables

| Name | Role | Location |
|------|------|----------|
| Sam | Engineer | Dallas |
| Alice | Designer | Austin |
| Bob | Manager | Remote |
Name Role Location
Sam Engineer Dallas
Alice Designer Austin
Bob Manager Remote

Alignment: 

| Left | Center | Right |
|:-----|:------:|------:|
| text | text   | text  |

Blockquotes

> This is a quote.
> It can span multiple lines.
>
> > Nested quotes work too.

This is a quote.

Horizontal Rule

---

Creates a divider line.

Where Markdown is Used

Platform Markdown Support
GitHub Full (README, issues, PRs, comments)
Reddit Partial (basic formatting)
Discord Partial (bold, italic, code, spoilers)
Slack Partial (different syntax for some)
Notion Full (plus extensions)
Stack Overflow Full
Jupyter Notebooks Full
Hugo/Jekyll/Gatsby Full (blog engines)
Obsidian/Logseq Full (note-taking)

Tips

  • Preview before publishing — use our Markdown Previewer to check formatting
  • Use blank lines between elements — Markdown often needs empty lines to separate paragraphs, lists, and headings
  • Escape special characters with backslash: \not italic\ → \not italic\
  • Keep it simple — Markdown's strength is readability in raw form

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