2026 07 28 Visual Editing Replaces Markdown Authoring

28-Jul-2026 — Visual editing replaces markdown authoring

Original GitHub Issue ref #303

Website text is edited with a visual editor. You type normally, format with the toolbar, and what you see is what visitors get. You do not write markdown codes to change the site.

This applies wherever rich text is edited: site edit on CMS pages, walk and group-event descriptions, and help text. Click into a field to open the toolbar; click away when finished.

Before

Text was typed as raw markdown: codes such as # for a heading and <br> for a line break. The field showed the codes, not the finished look.

Before: the same heading as raw markdown (# Contact Us — Meet The Committee!).

After

You edit the same content visually. The heading already looks like a heading while you work. The toolbar (headings, lists, links, tables, colour) appears for the field you are in.

After: the same heading in the visual editor. It already looks like a heading; the toolbar is for formatting, not for typing codes.

Markdown under the hood

This change is only about how people edit in the browser. Content is still stored as markdown for storage, export, AI and crawlers. The Content Export API (?format=markdown, Accept: text/markdown, contentMarkdown) is unchanged.

If you already have markdown and paste it into the visual editor, it is converted to formatted content. You never need to learn that syntax for day-to-day editing.

Practical tips

  1. Click into a text field to edit; click away when finished.
  2. Use the toolbar for structure and links.
  3. Image-only columns stay as images until you choose add text under column settings.

Ref #303.