What is Markdown and it's Usage?

If you have a basic understanding of web development, you would probably be familiar with What is Markdown or at least its syntax. However, of that isn’t the case then this blog is just for you. Markdown is a lightweight markup language to format plain text documents, allowing basic formatting without the complexity of HTML or other markup languages.  

If you want to learn more about What is Markdown, read this blog. Here, we will guide you through the whole concept of Markdown, steps to use Markdown, best practices of Markdown, and so much more.   

Table of contents  

1) What is Markdown? 

2)  Step-by-step guide to using Markdown   

3) What are the best practices of Markdown? 

4) What are the benefits of Markdown? 

5) Conclusion  

What is Markdown? 

Markdown is known as a lightweight markup language that explains how text should appear on a page. It was built by John Gruber and Aaron Swartz in 2004. HTML is also an example of Markup language. Markdown is a manner of writing documents that makes it very simple to describe how the content should appear. It describes text style, header, lists, links and much more. Markdown is used in articles, documentation, notes and also in building a web page. If you use GitHub, you will get familiar with “read. md” files. Here, the meaning of “md” is Markdown.  
 

 

Step-by-step guide to using Markdown  

To have a better understanding of Markdown, we will go through the step-by-step guide to use the Markdown practically.   

Step 1: Open a text editor  

You can start the process by opening a plain text editor on your computer. You can use software like Notepad (Windows), TextEdit (Mac), Visual Studio Code or text editor of your choice.   

Step 2: Create a new document 

Now, you need to create new documents in your text editor, where you will write down your Markdown content. 

Step 3: Header 

To create headers, use one or more hash (#) symbols followed by a space and the header text. 

For example:
 

1) # Header 1  2) ## Header 2  3) ### Header 3

 

Step 4: Lists 

To format an unordered list, use asterisks (*), plus signs (+), or hyphens (-) followed by a space.  

For example: 
 

1)  Item 1  2)  Item 2  3) Item 3

 

To create an ordered (numbered) list, use numbers followed by a period and a space. 
 

1) First item  2) Second item  3) Third item

 

Step 5: Formatting text 

For formatting text as bold, enclose it in double asterisks (**) or double underscores (__): 
 

**Bold text**  __Bold text__

To format text as italic, enclose it in single asterisks (*) or single underscores (_): 
 

*Italic text*  _Italic text_

To create strikethrough text, use double tilde (~~):  
 

~~Strikethrough text~~

 

Step 6: Links 

To create a link, enclose the text link in square brackets [] and the URL in parentheses (): 
 

[Google](https://www.google.com/)

 

Step 7: Images  

To incorporate an image, you need to use an exclamation mark “!” followed by square brackets [] for alt text and parentheses () for the image URL.  

 



 

Step 8: Blockquotes 

Blockquotes can be created with the help of greater than symbol (>) 

 

> This is a blockquote.

 

Step 9: Codes 

You can enclose inline codes in backticks (`) 

This is `inline code`.
 

This is `inline code`.

 

Code blocks are created by indenting with four spaces or using triple backticks (```): 

 

 ``` 

This is a code block. 

``` 

Step 10: Horizontal rule 

To create the horizontal rule, you can use three or more hyphens (---), asterisks (***), or underscores (___) on a line by themselves. 
 

---

 

Step 11: Save your Markdown file 

Now, you need to save your Markdown file with the file extension .md, such as my_document.md. 

Step 12: Preview and export 

To preview your Markdown Document, you can use Markdown editors and to export your Markdown to other formats such as HTML or PDFs, you need to use a Markdown converter to export tool, based on your requirements.  

The process of Markdown can be carried out through various software and web platforms to generate formatted output. The specific rendering may differ a little bit according to the tool or platform you are using, but the basic Markdown syntax remains constant. 

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What are the best practices of Markdown? 

Here are the following best practices of Markdown that you need to follow While codes of Markdown.  

1) Consistent formatting: In Markdown, you need to maintain consistent formatting throughout your document.  You can use the same syntax for headers, lists and other elements. Consistency helps in enhancing readability.  

2) Indentation: When you use nested elements, such as lists and blockquotes, you need to maintain indentation properly to make your document clear.  

3) Headers: In Markdown, use the appropriate numbers of hash symbols (#) for headers. For the main heading, you need to use one hash (#); for the section titles, you need to use two hash (##) and so on. Avoid mixing different header styles within the same documents. 

4) Lists: When you create an ordered list, always start with (1) and maintain consecutive numbers. For unordered lists, you can use asterisks, plus signs, or hyphens interchangeably but be consistent within the same list. 

5) Image alt text: In this, you need to provide descriptive alt texts for images to assist users with screen readers and improve accessibility.  

6) Whitespace: You need to be mindful of extra spaces and line breaks. Markdown ignores single-line breaks, so always use double-line breaks for new paragraphs.   

7) Tables: If you want to create tables, align colons (:) to specify alignments.  

8) Keep it simple: Markdown is created for simplicity. So, try to avoid overly complicated and nested structures.  

9) Testing: Always test your Markdown documents in different Markdown parsers or previewers to ensure they render as intended. Some platforms may have slight variations in rendering. 

10) Version control: If you're using Markdown for documentation in a version-controlled system like Git, commit your Markdown files regularly to track changes effectively. 

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What are the benefits of Markdown?
 

 

Markdown offers several benefits which have contributed to its widespread adoption in various applications. Here are the following benefits you can get through Markdown.  

1) Simplicity: It Is very easy to learn and use Markdown. Its syntax is Intuitive and straightforward. It is making it accessible for both technical and non-technical users. You do not need to learn the whole concept of web development to create a well-formatted document.  

2) Plain text format: The documents of Markdown are plain text files, which shows that you can create and edit them with simple text editors. This function makes the Markdown highly portable and compatible.  

3) Readability: The minimalistic formatting syntax of Markdown is created in a way so that it can be easily readable even in its raw form. This makes it very easy to create a document that is eligible for both machines and humans.  

4) Flexible: Markdown is very flexible. It allows users to mix HTML elements within Markdown documents. In this way, you can include more advanced HTML tags when it is required.  

5) HTML export: It is very easy to convert Markdown into HTML. This makes it accessible for building web pages and blog posts.  

6) Consistency: The Markdown applies a consistent and clear structure in documents. This allows you to maintain a uniform look for the document.    

7) Accessibility: If you use Markdown correctly, it can be highly accessible, specifically when you incorporate alt text for images and meaningful link text. This is necessary for creating the content for disabled users. 

8) Lightweight: Markdown files are usually small in size because they include minimal formatting information. This makes them very efficient for storage and transmission, which is necessary for web performance.  

Conclusion 

We hope that this blog has proven a helpful guide for you about Markdown. In this blog, we have discussed What is Markdown, the procedure of using Markdown, the best practices of Markdown that must be followed while working on Markdown, and the benefits of it. 

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