GT
GenTradeTools

HTML to Markdown Converter

Convert HTML to clean Markdown with customizable syntax options

Auto
Load example
Options:
ATX (# Heading)
Hyphen (-)
Fenced (```)
Backticks (```)
Asterisk (*)
Double Asterisk (**)
HTML Input0 lines · 0 chars
Loading editor...
Markdown Output0 lines · 0 words
Loading editor...

Features

Monaco Editor

VS Code-powered syntax highlighting

Turndown Engine

Industry-standard HTML to Markdown

Private

100% client-side processing

Customizable

6 syntax options to configure

Offline

Works without internet

File Support

Upload HTML, download Markdown

💡 WHY THIS MATTERS

Stop Wrestling with HTML.
Start Writing in Markdown.

You've got 500 blog posts stuck in WordPress. Your docs are HTML soup. Sound familiar? Here's your escape route.

🏃

Migrate in Minutes, Not Months

Converting 1000 HTML files to Markdown used to take weeks. Now? Paste, convert, done. Your static site generator will thank you.

✍️

Write Like a Human Again

Markdown is readable. HTML is not. Your future self (and your team) will actually understand what they're editing.

🔒

Your Content Stays Yours

Everything runs in your browser. No uploads, no servers, no "we store your data for 30 days." Zero trust required.

Three Steps. That's It.

1

Paste Your HTML

Grab it from View Source, export from your CMS, or upload an .html file directly.

💡 Pro tip: Use the "Prettify" button first to make messy HTML readable.

2

Pick Your Style

ATX headings for GitHub? Setext for old-school vibes? Backticks or tildes? You choose.

💡 Pro tip: Most modern tools prefer ATX (#) headings and fenced code blocks.

3

Copy & Conquer

One click copies. One click downloads. Your Markdown is ready for Jekyll, Hugo, Notion, Obsidian—anywhere.

💡 Pro tip: Auto-convert is on by default. Just paste and watch the magic.

Real People. Real Problems. Solved.

Here's what developers and content creators are actually using this for:

🚀

WordPress → Gatsby Migration

"I have 3 years of blog posts in WordPress and need to move to Gatsby."

✅ Export posts as HTML, batch convert here, drop into your /content folder. Coffee break included.

📚

Legacy Docs Rescue

"Our documentation is in a 2008 CMS nobody knows how to use."

✅ Export → Convert → Push to GitHub. Now your docs live where developers actually look.

📧

Email to Blog Post

"I write great emails but they're trapped in my inbox."

✅ Copy the HTML source, convert to Markdown, publish. Your newsletter is now evergreen content.

🎓

Course Material Update

"Our course content is in old HTML slides that don't work on mobile."

✅ Convert to Markdown, render with any modern framework. Responsive by default.

🔧 What Each Option Actually Does

ATX Headings
# Heading
Best for: GitHub, most modern tools
Setext Headings
Heading
======
Best for: Legacy compatibility
Fenced Code
```js
code
```
Best for: Syntax highlighting needed
Indented Code
    code
Best for: Plain text rendering
* Emphasis
*italic*
Best for: Most common choice
_ Emphasis
_italic_
Best for: When * conflicts with lists

More Tools You'll Love

📝
Markdown → HTML
The reverse trip
{ }
JSON Formatter
Prettify API responses
🔐
Base64 Encoder
Encode/decode data
✨
Text Cleaner
Strip formatting

⚡ Quick Tips from the Pros

🎯

Always Prettify First

Messy HTML = messy Markdown. One click fixes indentation before conversion.

🔒

Sanitize Untrusted Content

Pasting from random websites? Hit Sanitize to strip scripts and event handlers.

⚙️

Match Your Target

GitHub? Use ATX + fenced. Obsidian? Same. Old wikis? Try Setext headings.

📋

Check the Tags

Green tags show what was detected. No "Tables" tag? Your table might need fixing.

The Developer's Guide

The Great Migration:
From HTML Chaos to Markdown Clarity

📖 5 min read•Updated Dec 2024

Every developer knows the pain. You've inherited a project with hundreds of HTML files—blog posts from WordPress, documentation from a forgotten wiki, or marketing pages cobbled together in 2015. They work, technically, but editing them is a nightmare. The future is Markdown, and you need to get there fast.

This isn't just about converting file formats. It's about liberating your content from the tangled mess of nested divs, inline styles, and proprietary shortcodes that make collaboration impossible. Markdown is readable. Markdown is portable. Markdown lets writers focus on words instead of wrestling with code.

“The best migration is the one you don't notice. Clean Markdown just works—everywhere.”

The Turndown Advantage

Under the hood, this converter uses Turndown—the same library trusted by Notion, Obsidian, and countless documentation platforms. It doesn't just strip HTML tags; it understands semantic meaning. A <strong> becomes **bold**. A <blockquote> gets the proper > prefix. Tables convert to GitHub-flavored Markdown with proper alignment.

But the real power is in the options. ATX or Setext headings? Backticks or tildes for code fences? Asterisks or underscores for emphasis? Every team has preferences, and this tool respects them all.

📥

What Goes In

  • WordPress exports
  • CMS page dumps
  • Email HTML templates
  • Legacy documentation
📤

What Comes Out

  • Clean Markdown files
  • GitHub-ready READMEs
  • Obsidian/Notion notes
  • Static site content

Privacy by Design

Here's what doesn't happen when you paste HTML: nothing leaves your browser. No uploads. No server requests. No “we store your data for 30 days.” Open your browser's Network tab and watch—it stays silent. The entire conversion runs in JavaScript on your machine, which means you can convert confidential documents, proprietary code, or client materials without a second thought.

💡 The 3-Step Migration Workflow

  1. Prettify — Clean up malformed HTML before conversion
  2. Convert — Let Turndown work its magic with your preferred syntax
  3. Review — Check the feature tags, fix edge cases, export

The era of WYSIWYG lock-in is ending. Static site generators, docs-as-code workflows, and knowledge management tools all speak Markdown natively. This converter is your bridge—taking the HTML that was, and transforming it into the Markdown that modern tooling demands. Paste, convert, and step confidently into a future where your content is truly portable.

MigrationMarkdownDeveloper Tools
Powered by Turndown.js
Guide

Content lifecycle guide for HTML to Markdown migrations

Move legacy CMS fragments into collaborative Markdown workflows without breaking semantics or losing editorial velocity.

4 min read1,010 wordsMigrationMarkdownContent Ops

Map your legacy surface area

Before pasting HTML into the converter, catalog where that markup originated: WYSIWYG editors, marketing automation exports, or knowledge-base widgets all carry different quirks. Label each source with the Turndown options it requires (heading style, list marker, code block strategy) so your team can load the correct preset before running conversions. For example, emails exported from marketing suites often rely on

layouts; decide upfront whether those tables should remain as Markdown tables or be rewritten as lists. Documenting the landscape prevents rework and ensures every contributor understands which HTML constructs are in scope.

Normalize HTML before converting

Garbage in equals garbage out. Use the converter's prettify option—or an external formatter—to standardize indentation and quote style. Strip tracking attributes, inline styles, and deprecated tags that your Markdown pipeline cannot replicate. Many teams add a "pre-flight" step where they paste HTML into the tool, hit prettify, scan for anomalies, and only then hit Convert. This simple pause dramatically improves the clarity of the resulting Markdown because Turndown no longer has to guess how to interpret malformed tags.

Preserve semantics, not just appearance

Markdown should capture intent: headings define hierarchy, emphasis marks highlight important words, and code fences convey executable snippets. When reviewing the converted Markdown, ask whether each section still communicates the same meaning it did in HTML. Replace div-based panels with blockquotes or callout syntax supported by your docs engine. Ensure links include descriptive text rather than raw URLs, and convert button-like spans into Markdown links with action verbs. The converter gets you 90 percent of the way; that final editorial pass keeps the content accessible and future-proof.

Collaborate across disciplines

Engineers appreciate clean Markdown, but success depends on non-technical partners too. Share the converter output with designers to confirm brand voices survive the transition. Ask localization vendors to review Markdown tokens (such as bold or italic) so their tooling does not strip formatting. Legal teams can now comment on readable Markdown instead of hunting through nested HTML. Record these interactions in your project tracker so future migrations replicate the same approval path without guesswork.

Automate what stays repetitive

After migrating a few pages manually, identify patterns ripe for automation. Maybe every blog archive card uses the same HTML snippet, or your legacy CMS wraps headings in redundant spans. Build mini-scripts that preprocess the HTML before feeding it into the converter, removing those artifacts automatically. Store the scripts alongside a README that references this article so newcomers know when to run automation versus when to rely solely on the UI. The goal is not to replace the converter but to surround it with helpers that keep the Markdown pristine.

Maintain provenance and audit trails

Stakeholders might ask when a page was converted or which settings were used. Capture metadata in your commit messages or documentation: "Converted with HTML to Markdown tool · fenced code blocks · list marker '-'". When bugs appear later, you can trace the exact recipe used. Some teams even screenshot the converter UI after each major migration and archive it with the ticket for future audits. Transparency builds trust in the new workflow.

Handle mixed-content pages gracefully

Many legacy pages mix marketing fluff with structured reference sections. Consider splitting them into separate Markdown files so each part gets the formatting it deserves. Use the converter to break sections apart: select the HTML for a particular component, convert it, clean it up, and save it into a modular file that your docs site can stitch together. Editors love this approach because they no longer scroll through thousand-line documents; each module lives in a manageable Markdown file with clear ownership.

Train the team

Host a short workshop where each participant converts a messy HTML sample, walks through their cleanup choices, and shares tips. Encourage them to enable the converter's detection labels so they can see which features (tables, lists, blockquotes) were present. Keep a running FAQ that answers recurring questions: when do we keep tables, what do we do with inline styles, how do we handle embedded media? Empowering the team turns the converter from a one-off rescue mission into an everyday asset.

Migrating HTML to Markdown is less about the button and more about the process. With a deliberate lifecycle—from inventory to cleanup, conversion, and review—you can retire brittle WYSIWYG pipelines and move confidently into a docs-as-code future.

Guide

Governance kit for HTML-to-Markdown publishing teams

Codify review practices, accessibility checks, and localization workflows around the HTML to Markdown Converter so modernization projects stay on track.

4 min read960 wordsGovernanceAccessibilityLocalization

Treat every conversion as a policy decision

Legacy HTML often encodes organizational history: outdated button classes, inline analytics tags, or proprietary shortcodes. When you funnel that markup through the converter, decide what to keep, what to modernize, and what to drop. Build a policy doc that states, for example, "Inline styles are removed unless they encode color for accessibility" or "Deprecated shortcodes convert to fenced code blocks." Review the policy quarterly so it evolves alongside brand guidelines. The converter becomes an enforcement mechanism because everyone references the same rulebook before pressing Convert.

Embed accessibility experts early

Screen readers interpret structural HTML cues—headings, lists, tables—so poorly converted Markdown can degrade accessibility. Invite your accessibility specialist to pair during the first wave of conversions. Have them review the Markdown output, highlight where semantic cues were lost, and suggest alternative syntax. Capture their recommendations inside the converter's notes (for example, always include captions beneath tables using Markdown paragraphs). Over time, the policy codifies these learnings, and new contributors inherit accessible defaults.

Document localization contracts

Localization vendors need clarity on how Markdown tokens should be handled. Produce a translator-facing addendum that explains how emphasis markers (text), code spans (code), and links should be preserved. Provide before-and-after examples generated directly from the converter so translators know what to expect. When localized copy returns, paste it back into the tool to ensure token placement survived the journey. This quick check prevents broken emphasis or truncated URLs from reaching production.

Build a review sandwich

Adopt a three-stage review: pre-conversion HTML audit, converter run, and post-conversion Markdown QA. Different stakeholders own each stage. Designers ensure the HTML reflects the latest components, platform engineers confirm the converter settings match the target renderer, and editors review the Markdown for tone and readability. Track each stage in your project board so nothing slips. Because the converter runs locally, reviewers can work asynchronously without waiting for deployments.

Capture exceptions transparently

Some HTML blocks resist perfect conversion—think complex data tables or interactive embeds. When you encounter one, log the exception with context: "Section 3 retains HTML table due to rowspan requirements." Store these notes in a simple YAML file in your repo so future maintainers know why certain fragments remain untouched. Reference the converter version used, the settings applied, and any follow-up tasks (for example, "evaluate Markdown extension that supports rowspans"). Transparency prevents future teams from undoing intentional decisions.

Educate stakeholders with live demos

Host monthly "converter clinics" where team members bring tricky snippets and convert them live. Encourage open discussion about which options to toggle and why. Record the sessions and link them in your onboarding docs. Seeing the tool in action demystifies the process for PMs and legal partners who might otherwise worry about losing fidelity during migration.

Keep metrics on your side

Leaders fund modernization when data proves its value. Track the number of pages converted per sprint, the percentage of HTML removed, and the time saved in reviews after adopting the converter. Present those metrics alongside qualitative wins (fewer staging deploys, faster localization) to secure ongoing support. The converter thus anchors a sustainable governance program rather than a one-off rewrite.

With policies, reviews, and education in place, the HTML to Markdown Converter becomes an institutional muscle. It ensures every modernization effort honors accessibility, localization, and branding without forcing teams to reinvent the playbook each release.

Guide

HTML → Markdown: Modernization Field Guide (Adsense-friendly longform)

Policy-driven migrations from legacy HTML to Markdown with accessibility, localization, provenance, and automation guardrails.

15 min read3,500 wordsHTMLMarkdownMigrationAccessibilityAutomation

Mission

Retire brittle HTML while preserving semantics and editorial velocity.

Pillars

  • Policy-first decisions
  • Accessibility embedded
  • Localization contracts
  • Provenance notes
  • Automation helpers

Preflight

Prettify HTML, remove tracking attributes, normalize quotes. Identify tables, lists, and code blocks. Decide on Markdown targets.

Policy Examples

  • Inline styles: drop unless accessibility-critical
  • Tables: keep for data; convert layout tables to lists
  • Buttons: convert to links with verbs
  • Shortcodes: fence as code or replace with components

Store policy in docs/html-to-md-policy.md.

Accessibility Pass

Confirm headings, lists, and captions survive. Add alt text. Use language tags for code blocks. Capture a preview screenshot.

Localization

Translator guide: preserve tokens, avoid breaking emphasis markers, keep link syntax intact. Validate returned Markdown in the converter.

Automation

Build small preprocessors: strip spans, normalize tables, fix nested anchors. Keep scripts next to runbook.

Provenance

Record: source URL, converter options, decisions made, reviewer names, date. Screenshot the UI for audits.

Exceptions

If interactive embeds or complex tables remain, log the exception with rationale and follow-up tasks.

Training

Workshops converting messy samples; discuss choices and capture tips. Maintain an FAQ.

Incident Response

When legacy pages break, re-convert with updated policy. Attach Markdown and HTML previews to the incident doc.

Wrap-up

The converter becomes an institutional muscle: predictable, accessible Markdown with clear provenance and automation support.

Questions You're Probably Asking

"Will my tables survive the conversion?"

Yes! Turndown handles HTML tables and converts them to GitHub-flavored Markdown tables. They'll render perfectly on GitHub, GitLab, and most documentation platforms.

"What about inline styles and classes?"

Gone. Markdown is semantic, not styled. Your <span class="fancy-text"> becomes plain text—which is usually what you want for clean, portable content.

"Can I trust this with confidential content?"

Absolutely. Open your browser's Network tab and watch—zero requests leave your machine. Everything runs in JavaScript, locally. We literally can't see your data.

"What's the Sanitize button for?"

It strips potentially dangerous HTML like <script> tags and onclick handlers before conversion. Use it when converting content from untrusted sources.

"My output looks weird. What gives?"

Try the Prettify button first. Malformed HTML (unclosed tags, nested issues) can confuse the converter. Prettify cleans it up before conversion.

🔒 Client-Side Only⚡ Powered by Turndown🌐 Works Offline💾 No Data Stored

Built for developers who value their time (and their privacy).