Whether or not you are a first-time creator or a TDS veteran, welcome to our formatting information!
As of August 2026, we launched our bespoke creator platform to switch the WordPress website we would beforehand used. You may anticipate a a lot simpler, extra intuitive, and extra streamlined drafting expertise right here, however in case you want some steering on how one can add your work to TDS, you are in the fitting place.
Important Parts
Everytime you’d like to begin a brand new article draft, search for the + New Article button on the top-right nook of the web page. You may instantly see a pop-up modal inviting you so as to add key particulars about your work, just like the title, subtitle, primary class, and tags. If you happen to’re unsure about a few of these, that is advantageous — the one required subject at this stage is the article’s title. And you’ll all the time edit these particulars later if you would like.
When you click on on the Create Article button you will attain the editor display screen. The opposite required ingredient to consider now’s the featured picture. Look to the sidebar to seek out the choices for selecting or creating one.
If you happen to’ve created a customized picture on your article, implausible — click on on Add picture and select it out of your pc. If you happen to’ve already uploaded your picture to to your media library, or determined to repurpose a picture from an older article, decide Select from library and choose the picture you need.
You even have the choice to generate your picture utilizing AI immediately out of your draft utilizing — you guessed it — the Generate with AI button. Click on on it and a brand new modal will seem.
Simply kind in your immediate — be happy to be as descriptive and particular as you need — and click on Generate. After a couple of seconds you will see a number of choices to select from.
If you happen to ever want some further steering on selecting a featured picture, or wish to refresh your reminiscence round our pointers, here is a FAQ that covers the subject.
Including the contents of your article
With the important components out of the way in which, it is time to truly add your article. Our streamlined UI will get your draft prepared for assessment with minimal problem.
So as to add common textual content, merely begin typing. So as to add some other type of content material or media, all the time begin with the / key. A block menu will pop up, displaying all of the accessible content material varieties you possibly can add.
Use the up and down arroes to scroll by way of the listing, select the block you need at that time in your article, and go from there. Let’s take a better have a look at your choices.
Textual content
Self-explanatory! Simply kind in or paste your written content material. Everytime you begin a brand new paragraph, it is set to textual content by default, so you do not really need to make use of the / key (until you actually wish to).
So as to add particular styling to any a part of your textual content, spotlight the related portion and you may see a menu pop up:
You may select between daring, italic, underline, strikethrough, abd inline code. That is additionally the place you will discover the hyperlink button and alignmnet choices.
The textual content field image is the place you need to go if you wish to depart a remark for our editors. Click on on it, write your remark, tag somebody particular from our staff if you would like (utilizing the @ image), and click on on Remark to submit it.
Tip: to seek out all of your feedback in a single neat area, look to your sidebar, and click on on the Threads tab.
Headings
Creating a transparent structural hierarchy inside your article helps each readers and engines like google navigate your content material. Add a brand new heading everytime you begin a brand new part, and select the fitting one relying on its place inside your article.
If you kind /heading you will see six ranges accessible. All the time begin new sections with H2, and go down the hierarchy from there: for instance, Part 1 in H2, Part 1.1 in H3, Part 1.11 in H4, and so on. Please do not use H1 headings within the physique of the article.
Lists
You have got the choice to create each bulleted and numbered lists, relying in your wants — simply select the fitting block from the listing and also you’re good to go.
Tip: use the tab button to nest a secondary listing inside your main listing.
Blockquote
Select the blockquote block to focus on particular factors or concepts, or whenever you’re quoting longer passages from exterior sources.
Utilizing blockquotes sparingly might be very efficient, however don’t overdo it — similar to daring or italicized textual content, they will shortly turn into distracting.
Separator
Generally, a heading would possibly really feel inadequate for creating a visible break between or inside sections.
In these instances, use the Separator block — simply be sure to choose the Dotted type, which is the one we selected as our default on TDS. (If for some cause you completely want to make use of a distinct type of separator, that is most likely okay. Simply depart us a remark explaining your selection.)
Desk
Tables are nice for evaluating benchmark outcomes, product options, and extra. The Desk block makes creating modern tables very simple.
The + buttons beneath and to the fitting of the desk will add rows and columns, respectively. The opposite settings within the pop-up menu can help you toggle the header row and column, align the desk vertically, delete rows and columns, and delete the desk completely.
Code and GitHub Gists
Many TDS articles embrace code — typically tons of code. The textual content block we lined above provides you entry to inline code styling, nonetheless that is not a sensible answer for greater than, say, a brief snippet. You have got two nice choices to select from:
Code block
Select a code block whenever you’d prefer to enter code immediately into the draft and select a language-specific syntax highlighting for it. Simply paste your code into the block — then, both hold it in Auto mode and our website will select essentially the most acceptable highlights for it, or scroll down the listing of accessible programming languages and select the related one.
If the block solely comprises outputs, natural-language prompts, and so on., fairly than working code, simply decide Markdown, which is able to hold it in plaintext.
GitHub Gists
You even have the choice of embedding GitHub Gists immediately into your draft, which might be helpful if you happen to’re bringing your work over from a repo.
All it is advisable to do is paste the URL of your gist (be certain that it begins with gist.github.com) and click on on Embed — it should magically seem in your draft and within the ultimate article.
Math notations
One of many greatest upgrades of our bespoke editor is how simple it’s so as to add equations, formulation, and some other math symbol-heavy content material. Right here, too, you’ve two choices to select from.
Inline Math
Go together with the Inline Math block when it is advisable to insert mathematical symbols or notations within the midst of your operating textual content — simply kind it into the enter field, test the preview beneath it to verify every part appears good, click on Save, and also you’re accomplished.
Block Math
For longer and extra complicated mathy stuff, go for Block Math — that is the place you possibly can actually work your LaTeX magic. As soon as once more, use the preview beneath the enter field to verify all of the sigmas and deltas are in the fitting spot.
Pictures
For charts, plots, screenshots, animations, and so forth, use the Picture block. You have got a number of choices right here: importing, utilizing a picture already in your media library, including by way of URL, or producing one utilizing our built-in AI software. Go wild! (Okay, not too wild, please.)
When you’re picture is in, you possibly can click on on it and a settings popup will seem. That is the place you possibly can management its dimensions and alignment, add an alt and a title, and delete it if you happen to determined to not use it.
A very powerful setting right here is the caption — the second image from the left. That is the place we ask all authors so as to add sourcing and licensing data for all their pictures, together with these they generated with AI and/or created themselves.
Tip: in case your article comprises quite a few pictures, and also you created all or most of them, you possibly can keep away from including an annoying variety of captions by including a notice alongside the strains of “All pictures, until in any other case famous, are by the creator.” Then you definitely solely have so as to add captions to those you have sourced from third events.
Video choices
Trying so as to add a a stay demo, a lecture you gave, or the tune your audio ML undertaking is referring to? Straightforward — simply embed it utilizing both the YouTube, Vimeo, or DailyMotion embed blocks. All of them work the identical method: select the fitting block, paste the URL of the video you want so as to add, and click on Embed. The result’s a natively embedded, controllable video participant:
Social embeds
One of the simplest ways to incorporate content material from social media in your articles is embedding them — the formatting is already optimized for our website, and also you keep away from operating into thorny copyright points, because you’re primarily re-sharing the unique put up. Past the video embeds we talked about within the earlier subsection, it’s also possible to embed tweets and Reddit posts following the very same course of: select the block, paste the URL, click on Embed, and presto!
Hyperlink embeds
Use the Hyperlink embed block to create styled embedded hyperlinks to different URLs. Select the block, paste the hyperlink to the web page in query, and click on Embed.
Desk of Contents
For a ultimate little bit of magic, you possibly can routinely generate a clickable desk of contents of your article by including the… Desk of Contents block! It really works by accumulating all of your headings and subheadings right into a TOC format, so giving your ideas to the interior construction of your article will repay right here.
To create it, simply add the Desk of Contents block wherever you’d prefer it to look — for instance, after a fast intro (and, ideally, earlier than your first heading).
Tip: TOCs are non-compulsory; they normally work greatest in longer items and deep dives, and may really feel a bit superfluous in a brief, code-heavy article, for instance.
How can I ask for assist with my draft?
If this information hasn’t addressed the query you had or a problem you bumped into, no worries — you possibly can attain out to make use of immediately out of your draft. Simply spotlight any phrase(s), click on on the remark image, and tag considered one of our staff members with the @ image. (If it is a longer query and you favor to electronic mail us, you possibly can — discover us at publication@towardsdatascience.com.)
