Writing for the Web in Plain Text and Markdown, Featuring Realmac's Typed

12.02.2014 | by Benjamin Sullivan

So, you’re committed to writing content for your website. You’re a knowledgeable source, your community is actively engaged with your publications, and you’re driving traffic to the areas that count, by consistently delivering meaningful, relevant written work. Kudos to you! You’re not just any writer now, you’re a web writer, and that comes with some added responsibilities and a ton of new possibilities that you might not have considered.

We’ve touched on why meaningful content matters, how important the interests of your readers are to the sustained growth of your blog, and how content will inevitably fuel your website’s success or descent into the realm of forgotten domain names. It’s all in the content, but the good news is that your great responsibility comes with great power(s), and there are a ton of interesting tools out there to help you keep on top of it all. The trick is to know what you’re looking for, so let’s get right on that.

First of all, ditch that old word processor. Yes, Microsoft Word has served you well for as long as you can remember, but writing in plain text format opens so many doors that Microsoft’s Word (and others) keep securely shut in their closed system. No matter where you are, or what app you’re using, plain text files will be recognizable. They’re nothing but words - no formatting, no links, nothing but a bare file housing little more than your written word. Synchronize them to your Dropbox, store them on an external HDD, keep them on a USB stick, or manage them from your smartphone. It doesn’t matter, because plain text files can be accessed from any relevant application to be worked on. When inspiration strikes, this universal format will serve you better than any other.

OK, I know what you’re thinking. You want your cherished italics, your headers, your links. Formatting is essential, and dumping your plain text files into a word processor or a CMS just to go back and format your writing makes step one seem pointless. Fear not; this is where Markdown comes in. Created by John Gruber, Markdown’s claim to fame is that it enables writers to hold on to their beloved, cross-platform plain text format and convert it to HTML on a whim, for seamless web publication absent the hassle of middle-man formatting.

Think of Markdown as a plain text formatting language that’s used to indicate different formatting placement without actually needing that technology embedded on the platform you’re using. For example, if you wanted to italicize a specific word or phrase, you’d enclose your selection with a set of underscores (_) or stars (*). There’s a great map of the syntax here, but when I say that it’s intuitive and easy to learn, I mean it. Don’t let the somewhat daunting nature of markup languages scare you off - Markdown was built for web writers and is much closer to writing prose than it is to writing code.

If you’re worried about the learning curve of staring at naked Markdown, you’re not alone. To most writers new to the language, a document housing Markdown will look like an article that’s riddled with errors and unintentional symbol-key presses. Luckily, there are many developers who recognize how invaluable Markdown is to just about every writer in the digital space. Software like Realmac’s Typed has been designed specifically to cater to the writers who capitalize on this essential utility, with embedded HTML previews and Markdown syntax highlighting. It’s never been so easy to say goodbye to your old word processor.

Whether you’re a professional writer or a casual blogger, there’s no reason not to adopt Markdown. Write from anywhere, convert your Markdown to HTML, and upload the content to just about any CMS on the market.