diff --git a/demo-site/about.html b/demo-site/about.html
index 36fcb74..fde817c 100644
--- a/demo-site/about.html
+++ b/demo-site/about.html
@@ -119,6 +119,7 @@
     </footer>
 
     <!-- Insertr JavaScript Library -->
+    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/marked@16.2.1/lib/marked.umd.js"></script>
     <script src="https://unpkg.com/alpinejs@3.x.x/dist/cdn.min.js" defer></script>
     <script src="insertr/insertr.js"></script>
 </body>
diff --git a/demo-site/index.html b/demo-site/index.html
index 1e40766..63a3d1f 100644
--- a/demo-site/index.html
+++ b/demo-site/index.html
@@ -103,6 +103,7 @@
     </footer>
 
     <!-- Insertr JavaScript Library -->
+    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/marked@16.2.1/lib/marked.umd.js"></script>
     <script src="https://unpkg.com/alpinejs@3.x.x/dist/cdn.min.js" defer></script>
     <script src="insertr/insertr.js"></script>
 </body>
diff --git a/demo-site/insertr/insertr.js b/demo-site/insertr/insertr.js
index e6fdb16..2c3dbd6 100644
--- a/demo-site/insertr/insertr.js
+++ b/demo-site/insertr/insertr.js
@@ -26,6 +26,42 @@ class Insertr {
         if (this.options.autoInit) {
             this.init();
         }
+        
+        // Initialize marked.js with custom renderer
+        this.initializeMarkdown();
+    }
+    
+    initializeMarkdown() {
+        if (typeof marked === 'undefined') {
+            console.error('Marked.js not loaded! Please include marked.js before insertr.js');
+            return;
+        }
+        
+        // Configure marked with custom renderer for layout preservation
+        const renderer = new marked.Renderer();
+        
+        // Custom link renderer - preserves button styling
+        renderer.link = (href, title, text) => {
+            const isButton = this.looksLikeButton(text);
+            const className = isButton ? ' class="btn-primary"' : '';
+            const titleAttr = title ? ` title="${title}"` : '';
+            return `<a href="${href}"${className}${titleAttr}>${text}</a>`;
+        };
+        
+        // Custom paragraph renderer - preserves lead styling
+        renderer.paragraph = (text) => {
+            // Check if this should be a lead paragraph based on content/context
+            const isLead = this.isLeadParagraph(text);
+            const className = isLead ? ' class="lead"' : '';
+            return `<p${className}>${text}</p>`;
+        };
+        
+        // Configure marked options
+        marked.setOptions({
+            renderer: renderer,
+            breaks: true,
+            gfm: true
+        });
     }
     
     async init() {
@@ -235,40 +271,76 @@ class Insertr {
     }
     
     updateRichContent(container, markdownContent) {
-        // Parse markdown content into structured data
-        const contentBlocks = this.parseMarkdownToBlocks(markdownContent);
+        // Use marked.js to convert markdown to HTML with our custom renderer
+        const html = marked(markdownContent);
         
-        // Get existing elements in the container
+        // Create temporary container to parse the HTML
+        const tempDiv = document.createElement('div');
+        tempDiv.innerHTML = html;
+        
+        // Get existing elements (excluding edit button)
         const existingElements = Array.from(container.children).filter(el => 
             !el.classList.contains('insertr-edit-btn')
         );
         
-        // Update existing elements or create new ones
-        contentBlocks.forEach((block, index) => {
-            const existingElement = existingElements[index];
+        // Get new elements from marked output
+        const newElements = Array.from(tempDiv.children);
+        
+        // Smart merge: preserve existing elements where possible, add new ones
+        newElements.forEach((newEl, index) => {
+            const existingEl = existingElements[index];
             
-            if (existingElement && this.canUpdateElement(existingElement, block.type)) {
-                // Update existing element while preserving styling
-                this.updateElementContent(existingElement, block);
+            if (existingEl && existingEl.tagName === newEl.tagName) {
+                // Same element type - preserve classes and update content
+                this.mergeElementContent(existingEl, newEl);
             } else {
-                // Create new element or replace incompatible one
-                const newElement = this.createElementFromBlock(block);
-                if (existingElement) {
-                    container.replaceChild(newElement, existingElement);
+                // Different type or new element - replace or add
+                if (existingEl) {
+                    container.replaceChild(newEl, existingEl);
                 } else {
-                    container.appendChild(newElement);
+                    container.appendChild(newEl);
                 }
             }
         });
         
-        // Remove extra elements
-        for (let i = contentBlocks.length; i < existingElements.length; i++) {
+        // Remove any extra existing elements
+        for (let i = newElements.length; i < existingElements.length; i++) {
             if (existingElements[i]) {
                 container.removeChild(existingElements[i]);
             }
         }
     }
     
+    mergeElementContent(existingEl, newEl) {
+        // Preserve existing classes while updating content
+        const existingClasses = existingEl.className;
+        const newClasses = newEl.className;
+        
+        // Combine classes (existing takes precedence)
+        if (existingClasses) {
+            existingEl.className = existingClasses;
+            // Add any new important classes
+            if (newClasses && !existingClasses.includes(newClasses)) {
+                existingEl.className += ' ' + newClasses;
+            }
+        } else {
+            existingEl.className = newClasses;
+        }
+        
+        // Update content and attributes
+        existingEl.innerHTML = newEl.innerHTML;
+        
+        // Preserve/update href for links
+        if (newEl.href) {
+            existingEl.href = newEl.href;
+        }
+        
+        // Preserve/update title
+        if (newEl.title) {
+            existingEl.title = newEl.title;
+        }
+    }
+    
     updateSimpleContent(container, textContent) {
         // For simple content, find the main text node and update it
         const textNodes = this.getTextNodes(container);
@@ -283,114 +355,19 @@ class Insertr {
         }
     }
     
-    parseMarkdownToBlocks(markdown) {
-        const blocks = [];
-        const lines = markdown.split('\n');
-        let currentBlock = null;
-        
-        lines.forEach(line => {
-            line = line.trim();
-            if (!line && currentBlock) {
-                // Empty line - finish current block
-                blocks.push(currentBlock);
-                currentBlock = null;
-                return;
-            }
-            
-            if (!line) return; // Skip empty lines when no current block
-            
-            // Check for headings
-            if (line.match(/^#{1,6}\s/)) {
-                if (currentBlock) blocks.push(currentBlock);
-                const hashMatch = line.match(/^#+/);
-                const level = hashMatch ? hashMatch[0].length : 1;
-                currentBlock = {
-                    type: `h${level}`,
-                    content: line.replace(/^#+\s*/, '').trim()
-                };
-            }
-            // Check for links (potential buttons)
-            else if (line.match(/\[([^\]]+)\]\(([^)]+)\)/)) {
-                if (currentBlock) blocks.push(currentBlock);
-                const match = line.match(/\[([^\]]+)\]\(([^)]+)\)/);
-                currentBlock = {
-                    type: 'link',
-                    content: match[1],
-                    href: match[2]
-                };
-            }
-            // Regular paragraph text
-            else {
-                if (!currentBlock) {
-                    currentBlock = { type: 'p', content: line };
-                } else if (currentBlock.type === 'p') {
-                    currentBlock.content += ' ' + line;
-                } else {
-                    // Different block type, finish current and start new
-                    blocks.push(currentBlock);
-                    currentBlock = { type: 'p', content: line };
-                }
-            }
-        });
-        
-        if (currentBlock) blocks.push(currentBlock);
-        return blocks;
-    }
-    
-    canUpdateElement(element, blockType) {
-        const tagName = element.tagName.toLowerCase();
-        
-        // Check if element type matches block type
-        if (tagName === blockType) return true;
-        if (tagName === 'a' && blockType === 'link') return true;
-        if (tagName === 'p' && blockType === 'p') return true;
-        
-        return false;
-    }
-    
-    updateElementContent(element, block) {
-        if (block.type === 'link' && element.tagName.toLowerCase() === 'a') {
-            // Update link while preserving classes (like btn-primary)
-            element.textContent = block.content;
-            element.href = block.href;
-        } else {
-            // Update text content while preserving all attributes and classes
-            element.textContent = block.content;
-        }
-    }
-    
-    createElementFromBlock(block) {
-        let element;
-        
-        switch (block.type) {
-            case 'h1':
-            case 'h2':
-            case 'h3':
-            case 'h4':
-            case 'h5':
-            case 'h6':
-                element = document.createElement(block.type);
-                element.textContent = block.content;
-                break;
-                
-            case 'link':
-                element = document.createElement('a');
-                element.textContent = block.content;
-                element.href = block.href;
-                // Try to detect if this should be a button
-                if (this.looksLikeButton(block.content)) {
-                    element.className = 'btn-primary';
-                }
-                break;
-                
-            case 'p':
-            default:
-                element = document.createElement('p');
-                element.textContent = block.content;
-                break;
-        }
-        
-        return element;
+    // Helper method to detect if a paragraph should have 'lead' class
+    isLeadParagraph(text) {
+        // Heuristics for lead paragraphs:
+        // - Usually the first substantial paragraph
+        // - Often longer than average
+        // - Contains descriptive/intro language
+        return text.length > 100 && (
+            text.toLowerCase().includes('we help') ||
+            text.toLowerCase().includes('our team') ||
+            text.toLowerCase().includes('experience') ||
+            text.toLowerCase().includes('business') ||
+            text.toLowerCase().includes('services')
+        );
     }
     
     looksLikeButton(text) {
@@ -545,19 +522,7 @@ class Insertr {
     }
     
     // Utility methods for content conversion
-    markdownToHtml(markdown) {
-        // Simple markdown to HTML conversion (in real app, use a proper library)
-        return markdown
-            .replace(/^# (.*$)/gim, '<h1>$1</h1>')
-            .replace(/^## (.*$)/gim, '<h2>$1</h2>')
-            .replace(/^### (.*$)/gim, '<h3>$1</h3>')
-            .replace(/\*\*(.*?)\*\*/gim, '<strong>$1</strong>')
-            .replace(/\*(.*?)\*/gim, '<em>$1</em>')
-            .replace(/^\- (.*$)/gim, '<li>$1</li>')
-            .replace(/\n\n/gim, '</p><p>')
-            .replace(/^(?!<[h|l|p])(.+)$/gim, '<p>$1</p>')
-            .replace(/(<li>.*<\/li>)/gims, '<ul>$1</ul>');
-    }
+    // Note: markdownToHtml is now handled by marked.js in updateRichContent
     
     htmlToMarkdown(html) {
         // Simple HTML to markdown conversion
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 00b11a7..89a0f3b 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -8,6 +8,9 @@
       "name": "insertr",
       "version": "0.1.0",
       "license": "MIT",
+      "dependencies": {
+        "marked": "^16.2.1"
+      },
       "devDependencies": {
         "live-server": "^1.2.2"
       },
@@ -1144,6 +1147,18 @@
         "node": ">=0.10.0"
       }
     },
+    "node_modules/marked": {
+      "version": "16.2.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/marked/-/marked-16.2.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-r3UrXED9lMlHF97jJByry90cwrZBBvZmjG1L68oYfuPMW+uDTnuMbyJDymCWwbTE+f+3LhpNDKfpR3a3saFyjA==",
+      "license": "MIT",
+      "bin": {
+        "marked": "bin/marked.js"
+      },
+      "engines": {
+        "node": ">= 20"
+      }
+    },
     "node_modules/micromatch": {
       "version": "3.1.10",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/micromatch/-/micromatch-3.1.10.tgz",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 67cd6a0..ca85c89 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -41,5 +41,8 @@
   "browserslist": [
     "defaults",
     "not IE 11"
-  ]
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+  ],
+  "dependencies": {
+    "marked": "^16.2.1"
+  }
+}