HTML is for browsers. Markdown is for humans. If you need to edit web content, store it in Git, or use it in a static site generator, convert HTML to Markdown.

TL;DR

  • Open TinyUtils Document Converter
  • Upload your HTML file
  • Select Markdown output
  • Download clean .md file
  • Headings, links, and lists usually come through cleanly

Why convert HTML to Markdown?

  • Git-friendly — Track changes with version control
  • Static sites — Hugo, Jekyll, Astro, Docusaurus
  • Documentation — Docs-as-code workflows
  • Editing — Markdown is easier to read and write
  • Portability — Plain text never becomes obsolete

When not to convert

Convert to Markdown when you want clean, portable text. Keep HTML when the exact styling matters. A few examples where HTML is the better “source of truth”:

  • Marketing pages: layout, spacing, and CSS classes matter
  • Component-heavy pages: lots of non-semantic wrappers (div soup)
  • Pages that rely on custom CSS: Markdown can’t carry those styles without extra tooling

What converts

  • <h1> to <h6> — Become # through ######
  • <p> — Paragraphs preserved
  • <a> — Links become [text](url)
  • <strong>/<b> — Bold becomes **text**
  • <em>/<i> — Italic becomes *text*
  • <ul>/<ol> — Lists become - and 1.
  • <table> — Tables become | pipe | syntax |
  • <pre><code> — Code blocks become ```
  • <blockquote> — Becomes > quote
  • <img> — Becomes ![alt](src)

What's stripped

  • <script> — JavaScript removed
  • <style> — CSS removed
  • Classes/IDs — HTML attributes dropped
  • Comments — HTML comments removed
  • Metadata — <head> content ignored

How to convert

  1. Go to TinyUtils Document Converter
  2. Upload your .html file (or paste HTML)
  3. Choose Markdown from output options
  4. Click Convert
  5. Download the .md file

Clean HTML = clean Markdown

The converter does its best, but messy HTML produces messy Markdown. For best results:

  • Use semantic HTML (headings, not styled divs)
  • Remove inline styles before converting
  • Simplify nested structures

One practical tip: if you’re converting a live webpage, try to start with the content, not the whole page chrome. Navigation menus, cookie banners, and “related posts” widgets all turn into junk Markdown. If you can, grab the article HTML (or use Reader Mode and copy the main content) before you convert.

Images

<img src="photo.jpg" alt="My photo"> becomes ![My photo](photo.jpg)

Image files aren't downloaded, just referenced. Make sure paths still work in your destination.

HTML pages often rely on a “base URL” that’s implicit in the site structure. Once you convert to a standalone Markdown file, relative links can break because the file moved. A quick check:

  • If you see links like ../about/ or /docs/intro/, confirm they still resolve where you’re publishing the Markdown.
  • If you’re moving content into a docs site, you may need to rewrite links to the new structure.

Tables

HTML tables become Markdown tables: 

| Header 1 | Header 2 |
|----------|----------|
| Cell 1   | Cell 2   |

Complex tables with colspan/rowspan are simplified. Manual cleanup may be needed.

Markdown flavor

Output aims for a GitHub‑flavored style of Markdown (GFM‑ish):

  • Fenced code blocks with ```
  • Tables with pipes
  • Strikethrough with ~~text~~
  • Some converters also emit task lists (- [ ]) when they can

Quick cleanup checklist

Even with good HTML, you’ll usually want a quick pass before you commit it to a docs site or a repo:

  • Headings: confirm the hierarchy makes sense (one H1, then H2s, etc.).
  • Line breaks: remove “one sentence per line” wrapping if it happened.
  • Links: check relative URLs (they often need a new base path after moving files).
  • Tables: if a table is wide, consider keeping it as HTML or splitting it.
  • Code blocks: make sure code is fenced and not accidentally wrapped into paragraphs.

The goal isn’t perfection — it’s “clean enough that the next person can edit it without hating you.”

Batch conversion

Upload multiple HTML files. Download a ZIP of Markdown files.

FAQ

What about WordPress exports?

If you have HTML from WordPress, this works. The converter handles the common WordPress HTML patterns.

Can I convert an entire website?

Currently, upload individual HTML files. For bulk site conversion, save each page locally first.

What about <div> soup?

Pure layout divs are stripped. If your content is buried in divs with no semantic meaning, the output may need cleanup.

Next steps

Ready to convert your HTML to Markdown? Open TinyUtils Document Converter, upload your file, and get clean Markdown.

Then skim it once.