Text formatting and lists

Markdown is a lightweight markup language for formatting plain text. It makes content creation easy and clean.
Here’s how to use its essential syntax.

Text formatting

Headings

Use # for headings. The number of # symbols determines the level:

# Heading 1
## Heading 2
### Heading 3
#### Heading 4
##### Heading 5

Headings create structure, not only style. Nest them logically and keep them concise.

Don’t use more than one H1 per page.

Toucan turns headings into anchors for linking.

Bold and italics

Highlight text by making it italic or bold:

Bold: **text** or __text__
Italic: *text* or _text_
Bold and Italic: ***text*** or ___text___

Be careful mixing with backticks (`) because backticks show inline code — formatting inside backticks will not work.

Blockquotes

Use > to create blockquotes:

> This is a blockquote.

Use it to highlight notes, tips, warnings, or quoted text.

Blockquotes can include bold, italics, inline code, lists, or even images.

This is a blockquote.

Lists

Unordered lists

Use - or * to create unordered lists:

- Item 1
- Item 2
- Subitem 2.1

Ordered lists

Use numbers followed by a period to create ordered lists:

1. Item 1
2. Item 2
   1. Subitem 2.1
   - Subitem 2.2

Indent them with spaces for nested listing.

Also, Markdown will autocorrect if you made a mistake in numbering.

Nesting

You can nest ordered and unordered lists together:

1. Ordered item
   - Subitem 1
   2. Ordered subitem

Conclusion

These formatting and list options help structure your content effectively. In the next guide, we’ll explore advanced features like links, images, and tables!