HTMLPub Blogs is a built-in blogging platform that lets you write, publish, and manage posts — all from your dashboard, without any extra tools. Posts are written in Markdown, rendered via HTML templates you control, and published to a public URL instantly.
Plan requirements
| Plan | Blogs |
|---|---|
| Free | Not available |
| Starter | 1 blog |
| Pro | Up to 3 blogs |
Creating a blog
- Go to Dashboard → Blog in the sidebar.
- Click + Create Blog.
- Enter a Title (required) — the slug is auto-generated but can be edited.
- Optionally add a Description and Author Name (used as the default for all posts).
- Click Create Blog.
Your blog is immediately live at /b/{slug}. For example, a blog with slug my-thoughts is accessible at https://htmlpub.com/b/my-thoughts.
Writing and publishing posts
Creating a post
- Open your blog from the dashboard.
- Click New Post.
- A draft post titled "Untitled Post" opens in the editor.
The editor
The post editor has two modes:
- Visual editor — a rich-text WYSIWYG view
- Markdown editor — raw Markdown with a live preview pane
Use the toolbar at the top to switch between modes, upload images, and manage post settings.
Post fields
- Title — the post headline (also sets the URL slug)
- Slug — the URL path within your blog (auto-generated, editable)
- Content — your post body in Markdown
- Excerpt — a short summary shown in post listings (optional)
- Cover Image — featured image for the post (optional)
- Author — overrides the blog-level default (optional)
- Tags — comma-separated tags for categorization (optional)
- Template — the HTML template used to render this post
Publishing
Posts start as Drafts and are only visible to you. When you're ready to go live, change the status to Published using the status dropdown in the editor toolbar. Published posts appear on your blog immediately.
Post URLs
Each post is available at:
https://htmlpub.com/b/{blog-slug}/{post-slug}For example: https://htmlpub.com/b/my-thoughts/hello-world
Templates
Templates are HTML files that wrap your Markdown content. They control the visual design and layout of every post on your blog.
Template variables
Use these placeholders in your template HTML — they're replaced automatically when a post is rendered:
| Placeholder | Replaced with |
|---|---|
<!--POST_TITLE--> | Post title |
<!--POST_CONTENT--> | Post body (rendered HTML) |
<!--POST_DATE--> | Publication date |
<!--POST_AUTHOR--> | Author name |
<!--POST_TAGS--> | Tag list |
Creating a template
- From your blog, click Templates.
- Click + New Template and give it a name.
- The template opens in the editor with a starter HTML scaffold — customize it with your own styles and layout.
- Mark a template as Default to apply it automatically to all new posts.
Posts can switch templates at any time from the editor toolbar.
AI-generated templates
The templates page includes an LLM prompt you can copy and paste into ChatGPT, Claude, or any AI assistant. The prompt produces a ready-to-use template with all the correct placeholder markers already in place.
Custom landing page
By default, your blog root URL (/b/{slug}) shows an automatically generated post listing. You can replace this with a fully custom HTML page — useful for styled homepages, email capture, or branded layouts.
- From your blog dashboard, click Edit Landing Page (or Create Landing Page if none exists).
- Drop an HTML file, paste HTML directly, or use AI to generate a page.
- Save — your custom page now serves as the blog's homepage.
Individual post URLs are unaffected by a custom landing page.
RSS feed
Every blog automatically publishes an RSS feed at:
https://htmlpub.com/b/{slug}/rss.xmlThe feed includes all published posts with titles, excerpts, authors, and publication dates.
Blog settings
Go to Blog → Settings to:
- Edit the blog title, slug, description, or default author
- Delete the blog (this permanently removes all posts and templates)
Note: Changing a blog's slug will break any existing links to your blog or posts. Update any shared links after a slug change.
Need more help?
You can always get in touch with our support team—just click Support in your Leadpages navigation menu, or submit a ticket ↗