Why use Markdown? (for non computer folk)

Why use Markdown? (for non-computer folk)

Everyone seems to need a website. You may want to start a blog about your passion for home brewing. Perhaps you want to start a podcast. Or maybe you are a professional contract worker and want potential clients to be able to see your work. Who doesn't need a website these days?

Having your own website grants you credibility. You have your own site. You are a serious person about serious business. You can be googled.

Encryptic uses a syntax called Markdown. For our purposes, think of syntax as punctuation. Markdown appears in your normally written sentences just like a question mark. When writing for the internet, it is so much simpler to learn Markdown than, say, HTML. You really just need one easy cheat sheet.

Alternatives to Markdown are languages more than syntax. In other words, learning Markdown is like finally learning how to use a comma. Learning HTML is like learning Latin.

For instance, to create a bullet-pointed list, simply put an asterisk or a hyphen before the line item. Either works!

Not only is Markdown easy to learn. It's easy to read. Since Markdown appears as familiar symbols around your writing, it's simple for a layman to look at it and understand what it means. For example, bullet points can be made with either an asterisk or a bullet:

Let's make the following short list in both Markdown and HTML:

• I typed an asterisk to make this bullet.

• typed a hyphen to make this one.

In Markdown, that list looks like this:

* I typed an asterisk to make this bullet.

- I typed a hyphen to make this one.

The same list written in HTML looks like this:

<ul><li>I typed an asterisk to make this bullet.</li><li>I typed a hyphen to make this one. </li></ul>

As you can see, Markdown is more flexible, simpler, and makes your life a lot easier. Fewer keystrokes, less to remember.

Imagine if, for every period you typed, you instead had to stop, grab your mouse, and click a period button on the screen. You'd tear your hair out. The flow of your work would grind to a halt. Visual formatting in a way that never requires you to take your hands off the keyboard is fantastic for efficiency.

Formatting works the same way. In writing for the web, we need to open a menu to make a numbered list or to insert a link. You don't have to deal with that in Markdown.

Consider how many links appear in many web articles. A lot. Now consider, instead of having to go through the process of highlighting the language, opening a menu, and pasting in a URL, you could just type through it. With Markdown, you can.

Take Encryptic for example. All I had to do to make that link was type the word in brackets and the link in parenthesis:

[Encryptic](https://app.encryptic.org/)

All you do is type the word you want to be the link in brackets and the link in parenthesis. See how simple it is?

Markdown also ensures consistency. Text written in Markdown is ready to display on any website. With little variation, language written in Markdown will almost always look the same no matter what program you are using to write.

Encryptic uses Markdown because it is simple to learn, simple to read, and simple to use. We also use Markdown because it is universal, flexible, and transferable.

If you are looking for a secure note-taking app, consider Encryptic's use of Markdown. We promise, life will be a little easier.