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Markdown is a simple lightweight markup language which is widely used as a formatting language on the web. Few points that make markdown a wonderful option are:

Simple text format hence, easy to learn and use
convertible to various formats

In short, markdown data is converted to HTML data using the markdown processor which is in turn rendered by the browser. Markdown files have .md extension.

In this article, we will walk you through the basic Markdown elements so that you can use them smoothly anywhere anytime.

Heading

For heading of various sizes, use the following:


# heading1

## heading2

### heading3

#### heading4

The above markdown is rendered as follows:

heading1

heading2

heading3

heading4

Text formatting

Bold text

To bold a text, wrap it in ** from both sides. For example, the following markdown:

I love **OpenGenus**

is rendered as:

I love OpenGenus

Italics

To italicize a text, wrap it in * from both sides. For example, the following markdown:

I love *OpenGenus*

is rendered as:

I love OpenGenus

Strikethrough

To strikethrough a text, wrap it in ~~ from both sides. For example, the following markdown:

I ~~like~~ love OpenGenus

is rendered as:

I ~~like~~ love OpenGenus

Highlight

To highlight a text, wrap it in == from both sides. For example, the following markdown:

I love ==OpenGenus==

is rendered as:

I love OpenGenus

Quote

To quote a text, use > infront of the text. For example, the following markdown:

> I love ==OpenGenus==

is rendered as:

I love OpenGenus

List

To define an unordered list, use the following markdown:


* data 1
* data 2
* data 3

The above markdown is rendered as follows:

data 1
data 2
data 3

To define an ordered list, use the following markdown:


1. data 1
2. data 2
3. data 3

The above markdown is rendered as follows:

data 1
data 2
data 3

To define a sub list, use the following markdown:


* data 1
* data 2
    * data 21
    * data 22
* data 3

The above markdown is rendered as follows:

data 1
data 2
- data 21
- data 22
data 3

Table

To define a simple table in markdown, use the following:


| heading1 | heading2 | heading3 |
|:--------:|:--------:|:--------:|
| data11   | data 12  | data 13  |
| data 21  | data 2 2 | data 23  |

The above markdown is rendered as follows:

heading1	heading2	heading3
data11	data 12	data 13
data 21	data 2 2	data 23

Links

We can define a link in Markdown as follows:

[Learn at OpenGenus IQ](https://iq.opengenus.org)

The above markdown is rendered as:

Learn at OpenGenus IQ

Images

You can add images with a path https://iq.opengenus.org/content/images/2019/03/opengenus-1.png as:


![](https://iq.opengenus.org/content/images/2019/03/opengenus-1.png)

The above image is rendered as:

Code

To add code in Markdown, use the following:


```python
print ("opengenus")
```

It will be rendered as:

print ("opengenus")

Mixing HTML

You can add HTML elements in Markdown and it will work smoothly

[Learn at OpenGenus IQ](https://iq.opengenus.org)

Learn at OpenGenus IQ

On adding markdown elements in HTML, you will see that some elements are rendered correctly but not all.

<a href="https://iq.opengenus.org">Learn at **OpenGenus**</a>

Learn at OpenGenus

So, you can use a mix of HTML and Markdown in a single document but you may avoid mixing HTML and Markdown in a single DOM element.