Use keyboard shortcuts to format faster
The editor supports Ctrl+B for bold (wraps selected text in **), Ctrl+I for italic (wraps in *), and Ctrl+K for links (wraps in []() syntax). Select text first, then press the shortcut to wrap it. These three shortcuts cover 80% of formatting needs and keep your hands on the keyboard.
Start README files with a clear one-sentence description
The first sentence of a README is what appears in GitHub repository lists and Google snippets. Write it as a complete sentence describing what the project does, not what it is called: "A fast, lightweight JavaScript library for client-side form validation" rather than "FormValidator.js". Follow with installation, usage, and examples in that order.
Use reference-style links for cleaner source
For documents with many links, reference-style Markdown keeps the source readable: [link text][ref] in the body, then [ref]: https://url at the bottom of the document. This separates content from URLs, making both easier to read and update. Particularly useful for technical documentation where the same URL appears multiple times.
Task lists for living documents
GitHub renders Markdown task lists (- [x] and - [ ]) as interactive checkboxes in READMEs and issue descriptions. Use them for project roadmaps, feature checklists, and release notes. The previewer renders task lists with checkboxes so you can verify the formatting before pushing to GitHub.
Preview before pasting into your CMS
Many CMS platforms (WordPress, Ghost, Contentful) support Markdown input, but their internal parsers sometimes render edge cases differently from the standard. Write your content in the previewer first to catch formatting issues — especially with tables, nested lists, and code blocks — before committing to your CMS.
Use the HTML export for email newsletters
Write your newsletter content in Markdown, then use "Copy HTML" to get clean semantic HTML that you can paste into an email service like Mailchimp or ConvertKit. Much faster than building HTML email directly, and the clean output is more reliable than pasting from a word processor which often adds inline styles and Word-specific markup.