Don’t like how URLs and visual embeds look on Discord? You can use Markdown to make your message cleaner and hyperlink your URLs. Here’s how you can do it, plus a few examples.
What is Markdown?
Markdown is a syntax language that allows you to apply formatting to applications and websites that support it. In Discord, you’ve likely already seen some common Markdown syntaxes. If you highlight some text and click on the bold option in the floating toolbar, for example, your text will be surrounded by two asterisks:
**sample**
That is a Markdown syntax! Since Discord accepts Markdown, you can use other common syntaxes to format your messages, even beyond what’s shown on Discord’s toolbar. This includes embedding links within text (also known as hyperlinking).
Why Do I Want to Embed Links?
Embedding links is purely an aesthetic choice when it comes to Discord. If you paste a link into the chatbox as is and hit Enter, the link will work, be clickable, and oftentimes give a visual embed to go with it:
However, these embeds quickly become impractical if you’re sharing multiple links, and without proper formatting, a message full of links will be difficult to read at best or look like a scam attempt at worst. Markdown can help with both of these scenarios!
How To Embed Links in Discord
To properly embed a link in text, you’ll want to use the following syntax:
[sample text](http://www.sampleurl.com)
When you hit Enter, the text will be properly formatted as a hyperlink, and will include the visual embed.
If you want, you can remove visual embeds from a chat message by clicking the “X” that appears to the side of the embed when you hover over it.
Note that you do need to include the http:// in your syntax for the hyperlinking to work. If you just use www.howtogeek.com, the syntax will not work.
A Final Note About Discord Message URLs
If you’re looking to link a message link from Discord in your own message, you won’t need to use Markdown to format the URL. To grab the URL, go to the “More” menu when hovering over a message, then choose “Copy Message Link.”
Now, when you paste the link into your chatbox, it will look like a normal URL. However, when you press “Enter,” the link will be formatted and allow others to click through directly to the linked message.
Discord also supports other markdown tools, too, and you should try out some of the other formatting options.
