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How to use markdown in WordPress?

What is Markdown?

Markdown is plain text formatting syntax created by John Gruber with Aaron Schwartz in 2004. It can be used as an alternative to WYSIWYG editor which convert plain text to HTML text. Markdown syntax is easier to write compare to HTML. You does not need to know HTML in order to use markdown. Although it does not cover all HTML format element but it covered common formatting options.

Basic syntax of Markdown 

Markdown help to add format element to plain text on web. Below are few examples of markdown syntax:

Heading: ####heading >

heading

Italic: *emphasized* > emphasized

Bold: **strong** > strong

Link: [Jetpack](https://jetpack.com/) > Jetpack

Table Of Contents

How to enable markdown in classic editor?

Prerequisite: Install and set up Jetpack

Go to Jetpack > Settings > Writing

Enable markdown in classic editor

Activate ‘Write posts or pages in plain-text Markdown syntax’ in Composing section.

Activate markdown syntax in page or post

Markdown is now enable for post and page

How to check markdown working?

Go to any post or page in WordPress, use markdown to type in your text and press enter. If the text change to the related format, it is working.

How to enable markdown for comment?

Go to Jetpack > Settings > Discussion

Enable markdown for comment

Activate ‘Enable Markdown use for comments’ in Comments section.

Activate markdown syntax in comment

Blog visitor can now compose comment using Markdown.

How to use markdown in block editor?

There are 2 ways to use markdown in block editor:

Method 1:

Click + icon at toolbar on top, add Markdown block from Formatting section. You can start to use markdown in WordPress.

markdown block in default block editor

Method 2:

Requirements: install and set up Jetpack

Click + icon at toolbar on top, add Markdown block from Jetpack section. 

markdown block in Jetpack

Learn more about What is Jetpack?

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