Writing in Markdown — A Practical Guide

What is Markdown?

Markdown is a lightweight markup language designed to be readable as plain text and convertible to HTML. John Gruber created it in 2004 as a way to write for the web without touching HTML tags.

Core Syntax

Text Formatting

**bold**, *italic*, ~~strikethrough~~, `inline code`

Renders as: bold, italic, strikethrough, inline code

Links and Images

[Link text](https://example.com)
![Alt text](image.jpg)

Lists

- Unordered item
- Another item
  - Nested item

1. Ordered item
2. Second item

Code Blocks

Fenced code blocks with syntax highlighting:

```javascript
const greet = (name) => `Hello, ${name}!`
```

Blockquotes

Good writing is rewriting. — Truman Capote

Tables

Tips for Blog Posts

1. Start with front matter — always fill in title, date, and summary
2. Use headings — they build the table of contents automatically
3. Keep summaries short — one or two sentences max
4. Tag generously — tags power the search feature