The same draft behaves differently on every platform: some editors only accept formatted rich text, some only accept raw Markdown, and a few quietly drop code blocks or tables. Here is the per-platform playbook, plus a cheat sheet of which copy button to use.
First question: does the target editor speak Markdown?
Platforms fall into two groups, and the method is completely different:
- Rich-text editors (Medium, WordPress, Notion, Ghost, Substack, Google Docs, WeChat, Zhihu, Word): they do not understand
#or**, only formatted content. Use one of the rich-text copy options and paste directly. - Markdown editors (dev.to, Hashnode, Obsidian, Jekyll/Hugo/Astro, WordPress' Markdown block): they want the plain-text source. Use Copy Markdown source, or download the
.mdfile and import it.
Not sure which you are facing? Paste the Markdown source first: if the editor shows the literal ## characters, it is a rich-text editor — switch to the rich-text copy.
Platform cheat sheet
| Platform | Copy option | What to watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Medium | Medium / WordPress / Notion / Word | Medium strips most colours and custom styling by design — headings, lists, quotes and code blocks survive. Use their own image insert (or paste from the .html export) for pictures. |
| WordPress (block editor) | Markdown source, or HTML source | Use a Markdown block for the source, or paste HTML source in the code editor view. Rich-text paste also works for a quick draft. |
| Notion | Markdown source | Notion converts pasted Markdown automatically into headings, lists, to-dos and code blocks. |
| Ghost | Markdown source | Paste into an empty paragraph and Ghost builds the blocks for you; use the rich-text copy if you want the styling to stay. |
| dev.to / Hashnode | Markdown source | Both are Markdown-first — the source is the post. Upload the images with the platform's own uploader. |
| Substack | Medium / WordPress / Notion / Word, or HTML source | Paste the rich text for a normal post; use the HTML source if you are editing the newsletter's own template. |
| Google Docs | Medium / WordPress / Notion / Word | Headings and lists become real Docs styles, which keeps the outline pane working. |
| WeChat / Zhihu (Chinese platforms) | WeChat, or Zhihu | Each has its own tuned style. WeChat needs images re-uploaded and cannot render formulas — screenshot them. |
Rich-text platforms: one paste
- Write in the editor and check the preview on the right.
- Open Copy for ▾ and pick the option for your platform.
- Paste (⌘/Ctrl + V) into the target editor, then add images and a cover.
The copy styles only differ in typography. The WeChat style is large and roomy with an accent bar on H2; the Zhihu style is plainer; the generic rich-text style is the lightest and looks at home almost anywhere. Picking the wrong one costs you nothing but a re-paste.
Markdown-first platforms: paste the source
dev.to, Hashnode, Obsidian, WordPress' Markdown block and every static site generator expect the source. Copying formatted rich text into them is a common mistake — you end up with plain paragraphs and lost structure.
- Click Copy for ▾ → Markdown source.
- Create the post, switch the editor to Markdown mode, and paste.
- Upload the images through the platform's own uploader — they are already compressed locally, so the files are small.
Images
Pictures you paste or drop here are compressed locally and inlined into the document, so they always render in the preview and in the exported .html. When you paste into a third-party editor, most platforms re-upload the image to their own storage automatically; a few do not. In order of reliability: upload the picture manually, use Download .html and pick the local file, or right-click and save the image and re-insert it. No image host is ever involved.
Code blocks
Rich-text paste keeps the monospace font and background; Markdown paste keeps the syntax highlighting when the platform supports it. Some editors eat indentation — skim the pasted block before publishing. Blocks longer than 15–20 lines read badly on mobile: trim to the essential lines, or screenshot the highlighted block.
Math and diagrams
KaTeX math renders in the editor, the exported HTML and the PDF. Most publishing platforms do not support it, so formulas pasted into Medium, WordPress or WeChat arrive as plain text. Screenshot the formula from the preview if it has to appear in the published post. Mermaid diagrams are rasterised to PNG when you copy for WeChat, which is the safest option for any platform without Mermaid support.
A workflow that scales
- Write the Markdown master copy in the editor and use Download .md so you always have the source.
- Publish first where the experience is best — usually your own blog, Ghost or WordPress — using the Markdown or HTML source.
- Then the rich-text platforms (Medium, Notion, Substack): copy the rich text and paste.
- Share a preview without a server using the share link: the whole document is compressed into the URL and never uploaded.
Ready to try it? Open the SuiLang Markdown editor, replace the sample document with your own draft, and paste your way through the cheat sheet above.