CONVERT
HTML → OPML
Fast, secure HTML to OPML conversion. No registration required.
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Situation. HTML is the web's HyperText Markup Language, the universal document format for browsers. Solution: a OPML, produced below. Converting HTML to OPML online saves installing office suites you use once a year. Upload the document, let the server render it through the same pipeline large publishers use, and download a polished OPML that keeps its original structure and typography. One more beat. HTML is the web's HyperText Markup Language, the universal document format for browsers. Receiving format: OPML is a document format oriented around a particular office suite or publishing pipeline.
HTML Document
Source formatHTML is the standard markup language for web pages. As a conversion target or source, it carries text content with structural and formatting information that can be extracted or repurposed.
OPML Outline
Target formatOPML (Outline Processor Markup Language) is an XML format for structured outlines and lists. It is most widely used for exchanging RSS feed subscription lists between podcast apps and feed readers, and for hierarchical note-taking.
Why convert HTML to OPML
The driver for a HTML to OPML conversion is almost always the downstream audience: the editor, archivist, signer or reader who expects a OPML. Doing the conversion in a proper rendering pipeline, rather than hoping the receiving tool will figure it out, avoids layout drift and font substitutions.
HOW TO CONVERT
HTML → OPML
Provide the document
Select a HTML file. Very large documents (100+ pages) may take a few extra seconds to render completely.
Render to OPML
LibreOffice plus supporting filters translate the HTML into a fully-formed OPML with no structural drift.
Save the result
The converted OPML streams back over HTTPS; open in the target application to verify formatting.
Common Use Cases
Print shop delivery
Print houses accept OPML as a first-class submission format and reliably preserve pagination; HTML may reflow at the printer.
Archival preservation
OPML/A and related PDF archive standards are accepted by national libraries and long-term record keepers worldwide.
Multi-device reading
OPML renders identically on phones, tablets and desktops; HTML layout can shift based on the reader application.
Presentation handouts
Speakers distribute slide notes and references as OPML so attendees can view them without the source application.
HTML vs OPML — Strengths and limitations
What each format does best, and where it falls short.
HTML Strengths
- Universal — every browser, OS, email client, and document reader displays HTML.
- Plain text, human-readable, grep-able, and diffable in git.
- Flexible — pages render even with broken or partial markup (error-tolerant parser).
- Carries structure, styling (CSS), and behavior (JavaScript) in one file.
- Accessibility-friendly when written with semantic tags and ARIA attributes.
Limitations
- Error tolerance allows sloppy markup to hide real bugs.
- Rendering depends on browser engine — pixel-perfect cross-browser output is an art form.
- Security-sensitive — unsafe HTML can execute scripts or leak data (XSS vulnerabilities).
OPML Strengths
- Standard RSS subscription interchange format.
- Simple XML — easy to parse and generate.
- Highly extensible via arbitrary attributes.
- Supported by every major outline and RSS tool.
Limitations
- XML verbosity — larger than a JSON-based equivalent.
- Specification is loose — different tools disagree on edge cases.
- Primary use (RSS reading) has shrunk dramatically since Google Reader.
HTML vs OPML — Technical specifications
Side-by-side comparison of the technical details.
| Specification | HTML | OPML |
|---|---|---|
| MIME type | text/html | text/x-opml |
| Extensions | .html, .htm | — |
| Standard | HTML Living Standard (WHATWG) | OPML 2.0 (2006) |
| Character encoding | UTF-8 (recommended) | — |
| Element count | ~110 in current spec | — |
| Extension | — | .opml |
| Format | — | XML with nested <outline> elements |
| Primary use | — | RSS subscription interchange |
HTML vs OPML — Typical file sizes
Approximate file sizes for common scenarios.
HTML
- Hello-world page < 1 KB
- Blog post (rendered HTML) 5-40 KB
- Modern SPA (initial HTML shell) 50-200 KB
- Full archived web page (with inline assets) 500 KB - 10 MB
OPML
- Typical RSS reader export (50 feeds) 5-30 KB
- Deep outline (Scrivener novel plan) 20-200 KB
Quality & Compatibility
The conversion preserves document structure rather than pixel-perfect rendering: a paragraph in HTML is a paragraph in OPML, not a bitmap snapshot. That means you can still edit and search the OPML. If you need exact visual fidelity (for legal or print workflows), export to PDF as the final step.
Tips for Best Results
- Run a spell-check in the OPML after conversion — occasionally hyphenation or language tagging shifts and typos become invisible to the original checker.
- Include fallback generic fonts (sans-serif, serif) in your style definitions so the OPML degrades gracefully when a font is missing on a viewer device.
- For archive-quality output, export to PDF/A after converting to OPML; this locks the document against future rendering drift.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, as long as the fonts are standard (system fonts or common office fonts like Arial, Calibri, Times, Helvetica). Custom corporate fonts survive if they are embedded in the source document; otherwise the conversion substitutes the closest available match, which can shift line breaks by a character or two.
Yes. Inline images are embedded into the OPML at full resolution, editable tables become native OPML tables, and hyperlinks keep their URLs. Complex features unique to HTML — macros, form fields, track-changes — are mapped where an equivalent exists in OPML and flattened into static content otherwise.
All uploads go over TLS, files are processed in isolated containers and both the source and the output are deleted within two hours. No account is required, file contents are never indexed or used for training, and the paid plan adds a signable data-processing agreement for regulated workflows.
RELATED CONVERSIONS
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See these formats side by side to understand which fits your use case best.
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Read guideSecure & Private Conversion
Your files are encrypted during transfer, processed in isolated containers, and automatically deleted within 60 minutes. We never read, share, or store your data.