The Best Way to Write in Markdown in WordPress (Easy Copy-Paste from ChatGPT with Formatting)
by Matteo Lavaggi, Business Process Automation Consultant
Markdown is a popular choice for bloggers and content creators due to its simplicity and flexibility in creating clean, well-structured text. If you’re using WordPress and want a straightforward way to write in Markdown—especially if you’re copying formatted text from ChatGPT—this guide will help you enable Markdown support easily.
A Bit of Background: The WP Githuber MD Plugin
Previously, the WP Githuber MD plugin was a go-to option for Markdown support in WordPress. It provided seamless integration, letting users write posts directly in Markdown. However, this plugin has recently been removed from the WordPress plugin repository, leaving many users without a native Markdown editor.
The Solution: Enabling Markdown with Jetpack
With WP Githuber MD no longer available, Jetpack is an excellent alternative for adding Markdown support to your WordPress site. Jetpack’s Markdown feature lets you write posts in Markdown and renders them beautifully on your site, making it a reliable and convenient option. Here’s how to enable and use Markdown in Jetpack.
Step 1: Enable Markdown in Jetpack Settings
- Install and activate Jetpack if you haven’t already. You can find it in the WordPress plugin repository.
- Go to Jetpack > Settings in your WordPress dashboard.
- In the Writing tab, scroll down to find the Compose using shortcodes and Markdown option. Toggle this option on to enable Markdown support.
Once you’ve enabled this feature, you’re ready to start writing in Markdown!
Using Markdown in WordPress: Classic and Block Editor
Jetpack’s Markdown support works smoothly in both the Classic Editor and the Block Editor. Here’s how to use it in each editor type:
- Classic Editor: Simply switch to the HTML (code) view in your editor, paste your Markdown text (for example, a response copied directly from ChatGPT using the copy button), and save your post. Jetpack will automatically convert Markdown to HTML on the front end.
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Block Editor: Jetpack includes a specific Markdown block for those using the Block Editor. You can add this block and paste your Markdown text directly, making it easy to keep your post structure and formatting intact.
Future-Proofing: Posts Are Saved in HTML
One of the advantages of using Jetpack for Markdown support is that Jetpack saves your posts as HTML after rendering Markdown. This ensures that, even if you decide to deactivate or remove Jetpack in the future, your posts will retain their formatting in HTML, making your content future-proof and maintaining consistency across the site.
Conclusion: The Easiest Way to Copy Markdown from ChatGPT to WordPress
Jetpack provides a simple and effective solution to use Markdown in WordPress, especially for those copying text directly from ChatGPT. By using Jetpack’s Markdown support and pasting directly into the HTML mode of WordPress, you can ensure your content retains its original formatting.
For bloggers and content creators, this is a streamlined way to work with Markdown without sacrificing the look and feel of your posts. If you’re looking for a fast, reliable Markdown solution, Jetpack is the best option on WordPress today.
