Markdown ALL THE THINGS 🔥
I built this plugin because I couldn’t stand how unnatural it felt to write HTML or plain text in WordPress comments.
If you’ve followed my work – especially around Stattic – you know I write in Markdown – a lot.
It’s how I draft blog posts, write notes, collaborate on GitHub, and sketch out ideas.
It’s fast, lightweight, and intuitive. But oddly, WordPress still doesn’t support it natively for comments.
So I fixed that 😎
Meet the Plugin
Markdown Comments for WordPress® does one thing well:
It lets you and your readers write comments using Markdown syntax, and it automatically parses them into safe, semantic HTML.
- Want to bold something? Use
**bold** - Want to italicize it? Go with
*italic* - Need a quick
code snippet? Backticks. - Want to drop a link?
[This works](https://example.com) - Headings, bullet lists, numbered lists? It’s all supported.
It even adds a helpful little hint below the comment box so casual users know it’s there – no guessing required.
Why I Built It
I’m constantly engaging with readers on my blog, and every reply I leave feels like I’m breaking flow – switching out of Markdown mode just to format a sentence or link properly.
When you write in Markdown 95% of the time, going back to raw HTML or hoping WordPress® auto-formats correctly just feels clunky.
This plugin brings that Markdown fluidity to the comment system. It’s small, fast, and doesn’t load any bulky libraries or block editors. Just good ol’ parsed text, powered by custom code.
How to Install
- Download the plugin from the Projects page
- Upload it to your WordPress® site:
Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin - Activate it
- Go to
Settings → Discussion, and enable “Markdown Comments”
That’s it.
Now any comment – yours or your readers – will be parsed using safe, limited Markdown rules.
What’s Next
This is just v1.0.0 and is not where this plugin stops.
I kept the scope focused so it’s fast and reliable from day one. But there’s more on the roadmap:
- Blockquotes (
>) support for better discussion formatting - Developer hooks and filters so you can extend or override the parser
- UI improvements, like customizable hints and Markdown previews
- Possibly support for full Markdown libraries (like Parsedown) as an opt-in advanced mode
If you’re a developer and want to contribute or extend it, the code is clean and heavily commented. PR’s and feedback are welcome.
If you blog like I do – in Markdown, fast and freeform – this plugin will feel natural.
Comments are part of the conversation, and the format we write in should reflect that.
You can grab the plugin here:
Markdown Comments for WordPress®
Try it out, leave a comment (in Markdown, of course), and let me know what you think 🤘