Reddit Formatting 101: Bold, Links, Lists, and Everything You Need

You've written the perfect Reddit comment. Great insight, valuable information, helpful advice. You hit submit and... it looks like a wall of unreadable text.

Formatting isn't just about making your posts look pretty. It's about making them readable. Well-formatted content gets more upvotes because more people actually read it.

Reddit uses a simplified version of Markdown for formatting. Once you learn the basics, you'll never post a wall of text again. This guide covers everything from basic bold text to advanced tables—with copy-paste examples for each.

TL;DR - Reddit Formatting Essentials

• Use double asterisks for bold, *single asterisks* for italic, and backticks for inline code
• Break text into short paragraphs with blank lines between them — walls of text get skipped
• Add headers (## and ###) to organize any post longer than four paragraphs
• Create links with text syntax and bullet lists with dashes or asterisks at the start of each line
• Always preview your post before submitting to catch formatting errors

Why Formatting Matters on Reddit

Before we dive into the how, let's talk about why formatting is worth your time.

Readability Equals Engagement

Reddit users scroll fast. They're scanning for content worth their attention. A well-formatted post with clear headers, short paragraphs, and strategic bold text says "this is organized and worth reading."

A wall of text says "skip me."

Formatting Signals Effort

Taking time to format your content signals that you care about the reader's experience. This builds credibility and makes people more likely to trust your information.

It's Expected in Many Communities

Some subreddits have unofficial formatting standards. Long posts without headers in r/relationships get criticized. Technical explanations without code blocks in programming subreddits look amateur.

As we discuss in our guide on writing comments that get upvotes, presentation matters almost as much as content.

Basic Text Formatting

Bold Text

Use bold to emphasize key points. It helps scanners find the important parts.

How to do it:

**This text will be bold**

Result: This text will be bold

When to use it:

• Key takeaways
• Important warnings
• Names or terms being defined
• The most critical part of your advice

Italic Text

Use italics for emphasis, titles of works, or introducing technical terms.

How to do it:

*This text will be italic*

or

_This also works_

Result: *This text will be italic*

When to use it:

• Book, movie, or song titles
• Words being used as words ("The word *literally* is often misused")
• Gentle emphasis (less aggressive than bold)
• Foreign words or phrases

Bold and Italic Together

For maximum emphasis, combine both.

How to do it:

***This text will be bold AND italic***

Result: *This text will be bold AND italic*

When to use it:

• Rarely. It's visually loud.
• Extreme emphasis only
• Warnings that must not be missed

Strikethrough Text

Strikethrough is useful for corrections or humorous asides.

How to do it:

~~This text will be crossed out~~

Result: ~~This text will be crossed out~~

When to use it:

• Showing edits to your post
• Humorous corrections
• Indicating something is no longer accurate

Superscript Text

Make text smaller and raised, like footnotes or mathematical notation.

How to do it:

Normal text^(superscript text)

Result: Normal text^(superscript text)

When to use it:

• Footnotes or asides
• Mathematical expressions
• Quiet sarcasm or muttering effect

Links

Inline Links

The most common way to add links on Reddit.

How to do it:

[Link text](https://example.com)

Result: Link text

Tips:

• Make link text descriptive, not "click here"
• Good: Reddit's content policy
• Bad: click here

Bare URLs

Just paste the URL and Reddit will make it clickable.

How to do it:

https://example.com

Result: https://example.com

When to use it:

• Quick source citations
• When the URL itself is informative
• Less formal contexts

Linking to Subreddits and Users

Reddit automatically links subreddit and user mentions.

How to do it:

r/AskReddit
u/username

Result: Clickable links to the subreddit or user profile

Tips:

• Don't link to users unnecessarily (it notifies them)
• Subreddit links are great for recommending communities
• Use this when suggesting people find niche subreddits

Paragraphs and Line Breaks

Creating Paragraphs

Blank lines create paragraph breaks.

How to do it:

First paragraph.

Second paragraph.

Result: Two separate paragraphs with space between them.

Line Breaks Within Paragraphs

For a line break without a full paragraph gap, add two spaces at the end of a line.

How to do it:

Line one  
Line two

(Note: Two spaces after "Line one")

Result:

Line one

Line two

Why This Matters

Posts without proper paragraph breaks are unreadable. Even great content gets skipped if it's one massive block. As discussed in our guide on why posts get removed, readability affects engagement.

Lists

Unordered (Bullet) Lists

How to do it:

- First item
- Second item
- Third item

or

* First item
* Second item
* Third item

Result:

• First item
• Second item
• Third item

Ordered (Numbered) Lists

How to do it:

1. First item
2. Second item
3. Third item

Result:

1. First item
2. Second item
3. Third item

Pro tip: You can use "1." for every item, and Reddit will number them correctly:

1. First
1. Second
1. Third

This makes reordering easier.

Nested Lists

Indent with four spaces for sub-items.

How to do it:

- Main item
    - Sub-item one
    - Sub-item two
- Another main item

Result:

• Main item
• Sub-item one
• Sub-item two
• Another main item

When to Use Lists

Lists are powerful for:

• Steps in a process
• Multiple options or alternatives
• Features or characteristics
• Pros and cons
• Quick tips

They make information scannable and digestible.

Headers

Creating Headers

Use hash symbols (#) to create headers. More hashes = smaller header.

How to do it:

# Heading 1 (Largest)
## Heading 2
### Heading 3
#### Heading 4

When to use headers:

• Long posts with multiple sections
• Guides or tutorials
• Stories with clear parts
• Any post over ~4 paragraphs

Header Best Practices

• Use headers hierarchically (H2 for main sections, H3 for subsections)
• Keep header text concise
• Don't skip levels (don't go from H2 to H4)
• Headers make your content accessible for screen readers

Quotes

Block Quotes

Use the > symbol to quote someone.

How to do it:

> This is a quote from someone else.

Result:

This is a quote from someone else.

Multi-Line Quotes

How to do it:

> First line of quote
>
> Second paragraph of quote

Result:

First line of quote

Second paragraph of quote

Nested Quotes

For quoting a quote:

> Original quote
>> Reply to that quote

Result:

Original quote

Reply to that quote

When to Use Quotes

• Responding to specific parts of someone's comment
• Citing sources
• Referencing rules or policies
• Highlighting something from the original post

Code Formatting

Inline Code

For short code snippets or technical terms within text.

How to do it:

Use the `print()` function

Result: Use the print() function

Code Blocks

For multi-line code or preformatted text, indent with four spaces:

How to do it:

    def hello():
        print("Hello, Reddit!")

Or use triple backticks:

How to do it:

\\\`

def hello():

print("Hello, Reddit!")

\\\`

When to Use Code Formatting

• Programming code (obviously)
• Command line instructions
• File paths
• Technical identifiers
• ASCII art
• Any text where spacing/formatting must be preserved

Tables

Creating Tables

Tables are great for comparisons and structured data.

How to do it:

| Header 1 | Header 2 | Header 3 |
|----------|----------|----------|
| Row 1    | Data     | More     |
| Row 2    | Data     | More     |

Result:

| Header 1 | Header 2 | Header 3 |

|----------|----------|----------|

| Row 1 | Data | More |

| Row 2 | Data | More |

Table Alignment

Control column alignment with colons:

| Left | Center | Right |
|:-----|:------:|------:|
| L    | C      | R     |

• :--- = Left align
• :---: = Center
• ---: = Right align

When to Use Tables

• Product comparisons
• Statistics
• Schedules or timelines
• Pros vs. cons
• Any comparison of multiple items across multiple attributes

Horizontal Rules

Creating Dividers

Separate sections with a horizontal line.

How to do it:

---

or

***

Result:

---

When to Use Horizontal Rules

• Separating major sections
• Indicating a shift in topic
• Before a conclusion or summary
• Setting apart meta-commentary (like edits)

Spoiler Tags

Hiding Spoiler Content

Hide text that reveals plot points or surprises.

How to do it:

>!This is a spoiler!<

Result: >!This is a spoiler!<

(Users must click to reveal)

When to Use Spoilers

• Movie, TV, book, or game plot points
• Answers to riddles or puzzles
• Surprise reveals in stories
• Content that some might want to discover themselves

Special Characters and Escaping

Displaying Markdown Characters Literally

If you want to show a * without it becoming italic, use a backslash:

How to do it:

\*Not italic\*

Result: \*Not italic\*

Characters That Need Escaping

• \* Asterisk
• \# Hash
• \[ Brackets
• \( Parentheses
• \> Greater than
• \` Backtick
• \\ Backslash itself

Reddit-Specific Formatting

Subreddit and User Links

As mentioned earlier:

• r/subreddit auto-links
• u/username auto-links (and notifies the user)

Reddit's Fancy Pants Editor vs. Markdown

Reddit's default editor (Fancy Pants) is WYSIWYG. The Markdown editor uses the syntax in this guide.

To switch to Markdown mode, look for "Markdown Mode" or a code symbol in the editor.

My recommendation: Learn Markdown. It's faster once you know it, more consistent, and works everywhere (not just Reddit).

Formatting Best Practices

Don't Over-Format

More formatting isn't always better. A post with bold on *every* other *word* is harder to read than plain text.

Use formatting strategically:

• Headers for navigation
• Bold for key points only
• Lists for multiple items
• Quotes for citations

Format for Scanning

Most Reddit users scan before reading. Make scanning easy:

• Use descriptive headers
• Bold the most important points
• Keep paragraphs short (2-4 sentences)
• Use lists for multiple items

Consider Mobile Users

A huge portion of Reddit traffic is mobile. Some formatting considerations:

• Tables can be hard to read on small screens
• Super-long lines get awkward
• Keep formatting simple when in doubt

Match Subreddit Norms

Different communities have different formatting expectations:

• r/writingprompts: Minimal formatting, focus on prose
• r/explainlikeimfive: Headers and simple structure
• r/programming: Code blocks are essential
• r/relationships: Wall of text is common (but still use paragraphs!)

As we discuss in our guide on driving organic traffic from Reddit, matching community expectations is crucial for engagement.

Common Formatting Mistakes

Mistake 1: No Paragraph Breaks

The #1 formatting sin. Always add blank lines between paragraphs.

Mistake 2: Broken Links

Make sure there's no space between the brackets and parentheses:

• Wrong: [text] (url)
• Right: [text](url)

Mistake 3: Inconsistent List Formatting

Pick one style and stick with it:

• Don't mix * and - in the same list
• Don't mix periods and non-periods at the end of list items

Mistake 4: Headers for Emphasis

Don't use headers just to make text bigger. Use bold for emphasis, headers for structure.

Mistake 5: Forgetting to Preview

Always preview your post before submitting. Markdown errors are easy to miss.

Formatting Cheat Sheet

Here's a quick reference to copy-paste:

**bold**
*italic*
~~strikethrough~~

[Link text](url)

> Quote

- Bullet list
1. Numbered list

# Header 1
## Header 2
### Header 3

`inline code`

    code block (indent 4 spaces)

| Table | Header |
|-------|--------|
| Data  | Data   |

---
Horizontal rule

>!Spoiler!<

Putting It All Together

Good formatting isn't complicated—it's about making your content easy to consume. The basics:

1. Use paragraph breaks liberally
2. Add headers for posts longer than 4 paragraphs
3. Use bold for key points
4. Use lists for multiple items
5. Preview before posting

Master these fundamentals, and your Reddit content will stand out. Combined with the strategies in our guides on writing great comments and creating engaging posts, you'll be well-equipped to build a strong Reddit presence.

Now stop reading about formatting and go practice it. Your next post is waiting.