Markdown is a syntax intended for writing for the web. It converts its output to clean structured HTML without the hassle of HTML tags.
John Gruber came up with the syntax back in 2004 with one goal: to make it easy to write and read web based content.
I know it may seem unnecessary and not need to know; but once you get the hang of it, writing for the web becomes so much faster. And cooler
Here’s an example:
The [quick](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_quick_brown_fox_jumps_over_the_lazy_dog) brown **fox** jumped *over* the lazy **dog**
This sentence now looks like this:
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
I didn’t have to use HTML tags nor did I have to waste a few seconds highlighting text and looking for the BOLD, ITALICS and ADD LINK buttons. The best part is, I maintained my writing flow.
Convincing enough for you? Let’s get into a simple cheat sheet of how it works.
Headings
#Heading1
##Heading2
###Heading3
####Heading4
The number of hashes at the beginning of a Markdown line specify the level of heading. Here’s what the text above becomes:
Heading1
Heading2
Heading3
Heading4
Emphasis
If you want to add some mmph to your text, here’s how:
**Bold**
*Italics*
[Link](www.techwithlulu.com)
***Bold-Italic***
becomes:
Bold
Italics
Bold-Italics
In writing, these are the most commonly used formats used in emphasis; you’ll not come across others often.
Lists
Organizing content in an ordered way (using numbers):
1.Sneakers
2.Snickers
3.Stickers
So easy, just use numbers, or letters. Whichever you prefer.
For unordered lists (using dots/ bullets):
* Boots
- Books
+ Suits
- Boots
- Books
- Suits
Using any of +, -, * creates bulleted lists.
Images
The text is the square brackets is the descriptive information about the image.
Links in Images
The markdown image is wrapped in brackets and the link added at the end in parenthesis:
[](https://www.instagram.com/techwithlulu/)
becomes:
Paragraphs
Just write a paragraph how you would write any paragraph.
The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.
I like using Markdown
Blockquotes
> I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.
becomes:
I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.
Horizontal Rules
For lines going from left to right use 3 or more asterisks (***), dashes (—) or underscores(___):
***
___
---
Don’t worry about how you are supposed to remember all the markdown syntax. I don’t remember all of it either and I have barely scratched the surface with the ones I have written above, that’s why Markdown editors come with a cheat sheet.
I use Visual Studio Code but there are other Markdown editors available.
Try it, you’ll be surprised by how fast you’ll get the hang of it.
<Lulu>
