Quick answerOpen the document, select all and copy, then paste into a Word to HTML converter such as htmlonline.dev/word-to-html/. It keeps headings, lists, links, bold, italics and tables and strips inline styles, spans, Mso classes and empty paragraphs. Copy the clean HTML into your CMS's code view.
Why Word HTML is so messy
Word is designed to reproduce a printed page exactly, so when it exports HTML it records every font, size, margin and spacing value inline, adds Office-only tags like <o:p>, wraps text in <span>s, and inserts conditional comments for old Outlook. A 300-word letter can turn into 30 KB of markup. Pasted into a website, those inline styles override your theme, so fonts and spacing look wrong.
Three methods compared
| Method | Result | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Word → Save As → Web Page (.htm) | Full of mso- styles, XML, conditional comments | Avoid |
| Word → Save As → Web Page, Filtered | Smaller, but still inline styles and Mso classes | Needs cleaning |
| Copy → paste into a Word to HTML converter | Semantic HTML: headings, lists, links, tables only | Best |
Step by step
- In Word or Google Docs, make sure headings use the built-in Heading 1/2/3 styles (not just big bold text) — that's how the converter knows they're headings.
- Select all and copy.
- Open the Word to HTML converter and paste into the left box.
- Check the options: styles and classes are removed by default; tick Keep inline styles only if you need the colours.
- Copy the clean HTML from the right and paste it into your CMS's HTML/code view (not the visual view, which would re-format it).
Already have messy HTML?
If you've already exported or pasted Word HTML somewhere, copy that code into the HTML cleaner with "Remove Word / Google Docs junk", "Remove inline styles", "Unwrap span and font tags" and "Remove empty tags" ticked. You can also do this right in the editor with the Clean… button.
Images, lists and tables
- Images: pasted Word images often point to temporary files on your computer. Upload the images to your website or CMS separately and update each
src. - Lists: use Word's real bullet and numbering buttons. Manually typed "1." or "•" paragraphs come through as plain paragraphs.
- Tables: simple tables convert cleanly. Merged cells keep their
colspan/rowspanas long as you don't tick "Remove all other attributes".
Need Markdown instead?
Convert to HTML first, then paste the HTML into HTML to Markdown — handy for GitHub, static sites, Notion and AI tools.
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert Word to HTML without formatting?
Copy the text from Word and paste it into htmlonline.dev/word-to-html/. Inline fonts, colours and sizes are removed while structure is kept.
How do I convert Google Docs to HTML?
Copy from the doc and paste into the Word to HTML converter. File → Download → Web page (.html) also works but adds inline styles and a CSS block.
Why does my pasted Word text look different on my website?
Word's inline styles override your site's CSS. Converting to clean HTML first lets your site's design take over.
Can I convert a .docx file without opening it?
You need something to read the .docx. Opening it in Word, Google Docs or LibreOffice and copying is the simplest and keeps everything private.
Is the conversion private?
Yes. The converter on htmlonline.dev runs in your browser and never uploads your document.