diff --git a/internal/stringutil/htmlchunker.go b/internal/stringutil/htmlchunker.go
index 9efd76b6..178e83fc 100644
--- a/internal/stringutil/htmlchunker.go
+++ b/internal/stringutil/htmlchunker.go
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 // Bump whenever ChunkHTMLContent changes the text it emits for unchanged input; it feeds reindex fingerprints.
-const ChunkerVersion = 2
+const ChunkerVersion = 3
 
 var (
 	sentenceRegex     = regexp.MustCompile(`[.!?]+[\s]+`)
diff --git a/internal/stringutil/htmlembedprep.go b/internal/stringutil/htmlembedprep.go
index e96d2c5d..f39838bb 100644
--- a/internal/stringutil/htmlembedprep.go
+++ b/internal/stringutil/htmlembedprep.go
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ func prepareHTMLForEmbedding(htmlContent string) string {
 	if err != nil {
 		return htmlContent
 	}
-	inlineLinkHrefs(doc)
+	inlineAnchorMarkdown(doc)
 	flattenTables(doc)
 
 	var b strings.Builder
@@ -22,20 +22,6 @@ func prepareHTMLForEmbedding(htmlContent string) string {
 	return b.String()
 }
 
-// inlineLinkHrefs appends each link's destination after its text so the flattened text keeps the URL.
-func inlineLinkHrefs(n *html.Node) {
-	if n.Type == html.ElementNode && n.Data == "a" {
-		href := strings.TrimSpace(attrValue(n, "href"))
-		text := strings.TrimSpace(nodeText(n))
-		if href != "" && !strings.HasPrefix(href, "#") && !strings.HasPrefix(href, "cid:") && text != href {
-			n.AppendChild(&html.Node{Type: html.TextNode, Data: " (" + href + ")"})
-		}
-	}
-	for c := n.FirstChild; c != nil; c = c.NextSibling {
-		inlineLinkHrefs(c)
-	}
-}
-
 // flattenTables turns each table into a <pre> of one header-labelled line per row, which also keeps it unsplittable.
 func flattenTables(n *html.Node) {
 	var tables []*html.Node
diff --git a/internal/stringutil/htmlembedprep_test.go b/internal/stringutil/htmlembedprep_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5366eeb1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/stringutil/htmlembedprep_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+package stringutil
+
+import (
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func TestPrepareHTMLForEmbedding(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name        string
+		in          string
+		contains    []string
+		notContains []string
+	}{
+		{
+			name:        "link becomes markdown",
+			in:          `<p>See <a href="https://example.com/guide">the guide</a> for steps.</p>`,
+			contains:    []string{"See [the guide](https://example.com/guide) for steps."},
+			notContains: []string{"<a "},
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "bare url link keeps the url once",
+			in:       `<p><a href="https://example.com">https://example.com</a></p>`,
+			contains: []string{">https://example.com<"},
+			notContains: []string{
+				"[https://example.com](https://example.com)",
+				"<a ",
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			name:        "anchor and cid links are left alone",
+			in:          `<p><a href="#setup">Setup</a> <a href="cid:img1">inline</a></p>`,
+			contains:    []string{`<a href="#setup">Setup</a>`, `<a href="cid:img1">inline</a>`},
+			notContains: []string{"[Setup]"},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "table flattens to header labelled lines",
+			in: `<table>
+				<tr><th>Plan</th><th>Price</th></tr>
+				<tr><td>Basic</td><td>$5</td></tr>
+				<tr><td>Pro</td><td>$10</td></tr>
+			</table>`,
+			contains:    []string{"<pre>", "Plan: Basic | Price: $5", "Plan: Pro | Price: $10"},
+			notContains: []string{"<table>"},
+		},
+		{
+			name:        "header only table keeps the header line",
+			in:          `<table><tr><th>Plan</th><th>Price</th></tr></table>`,
+			contains:    []string{"Plan | Price"},
+			notContains: []string{"<table>"},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "caption leads the table text",
+			in:   `<table><caption>Pricing</caption><tr><td>Basic</td><td>$5</td></tr></table>`,
+			contains: []string{
+				"Pricing\nBasic | $5",
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			name:        "link inside a table cell survives as markdown",
+			in:          `<table><tr><th>Doc</th></tr><tr><td><a href="https://example.com/x">Pay now</a></td></tr></table>`,
+			contains:    []string{"Doc: [Pay now](https://example.com/x)"},
+			notContains: []string{"<a "},
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "invalid html is returned untouched on parse success path",
+			in:       `plain text with no markup`,
+			contains: []string{"plain text with no markup"},
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			got := prepareHTMLForEmbedding(tt.in)
+			for _, want := range tt.contains {
+				if !strings.Contains(got, want) {
+					t.Errorf("output missing %q\ngot: %s", want, got)
+				}
+			}
+			for _, not := range tt.notContains {
+				if strings.Contains(got, not) {
+					t.Errorf("output should not contain %q\ngot: %s", not, got)
+				}
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
diff --git a/static/public/web-templates/help/classic/article.html b/static/public/web-templates/help/classic/article.html
index 199e8956..0d953da6 100644
--- a/static/public/web-templates/help/classic/article.html
+++ b/static/public/web-templates/help/classic/article.html
@@ -22,26 +22,13 @@
         <span>{{ if $showAuthor }}<span class="hc-author">{{ .Data.Article.AuthorName }}</span> &middot; {{ end }}{{ $.L.T "globals.terms.lastUpdated" }} <time class="hc-date" datetime="{{ .Data.ModifiedTime }}">{{ .Data.Article.UpdatedAt.Format "Jan 2, 2006" }}</time></span>
     </div>
     <div class="hc-article-body">
-        {{ if not .Data.HelpCenter.Theme.Article.HideToc }}
-        <nav class="hc-toc{{ if .Data.TOC }} hc-toc-open{{ end }}" id="hc-toc" aria-label="{{ $.L.T "helpCenter.onThisPage" }}"{{ if not .Data.TOC }} hidden{{ end }}>
-            <button class="hc-toc-title" type="button" id="hc-toc-toggle" aria-expanded="{{ if .Data.TOC }}true{{ else }}false{{ end }}" aria-controls="hc-toc-list">
-                {{ $.L.T "helpCenter.onThisPage" }}
-                <svg class="hc-toc-caret" width="12" height="12" viewBox="0 0 16 16" fill="none" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M4 6l4 4 4-4" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.6" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round"/></svg>
-            </button>
-            <ul id="hc-toc-list">{{ range .Data.TOC }}<li><a href="#{{ .ID }}">{{ .Title }}</a></li>{{ end }}</ul>
-        </nav>
-        {{ end }}
+        {{ template "hc-article-toc" . }}
         <div class="hc-prose" id="hc-prose">{{ .Data.Content }}</div>
     </div>
 </article>
 
 <div class="hc-article-foot">
-<div class="hc-helpful" id="hc-helpful" role="group" aria-labelledby="hc-helpful-q" data-endpoint="/api/public/help-centers/{{ .Data.HelpCenter.Slug }}/articles/{{ .Data.Article.Slug }}/feedback?locale={{ .Data.Article.Locale }}">
-    <span class="hc-helpful-q" id="hc-helpful-q">{{ $.L.T "helpCenter.wasHelpful" }}</span>
-    <button type="button" data-helpful="true">{{ $.L.T "globals.messages.yes" }}</button>
-    <button type="button" data-helpful="false">{{ $.L.T "globals.messages.no" }}</button>
-    <span class="hc-helpful-thanks" hidden>{{ $.L.T "helpCenter.feedbackThanks" }}</span>
-</div>
+{{ template "hc-helpful" . }}
 
 {{ if and .Data.Related (not .Data.HelpCenter.Theme.Article.HideRelated) }}
 <aside class="hc-related">
diff --git a/static/public/web-templates/help/classic/layout.html b/static/public/web-templates/help/classic/layout.html
index fc63cc58..f4b83f54 100644
--- a/static/public/web-templates/help/classic/layout.html
+++ b/static/public/web-templates/help/classic/layout.html
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
             {{ if .Data.HelpCenter.TaglineHTML }}<p class="hc-hero-tagline">{{ .Data.HelpCenter.TaglineHTML }}</p>{{ end }}
             {{ end }}
             <form class="hc-search" action="{{ .Data.HelpCenter.BasePath }}/search" method="GET" role="search" data-hc-base="{{ .Data.HelpCenter.BasePath }}" data-hc-slug="{{ .Data.HelpCenter.Slug }}" data-hc-locale="{{ .Data.HelpCenter.CurrentLocale }}" data-hc-empty="{{ $.L.T "helpCenter.noResults" }}" data-hc-results-one="{{ $.L.Tc "helpCenter.resultsCount" 1 }}" data-hc-results="{{ $.L.Tc "helpCenter.resultsCount" 2 }}">
-                <svg class="hc-search-icon" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.8" aria-hidden="true"><circle cx="9" cy="9" r="6" /><path d="m18 18-4.5-4.5" stroke-linecap="round" /></svg>
+                {{ template "hc-search-icon" "hc-search-icon" }}
                 <input type="search" name="q" value="{{ .Data.Query }}" placeholder="{{ $.L.T "helpCenter.searchPlaceholder" }}" aria-label="{{ $.L.T "helpCenter.searchPlaceholder" }}" autocomplete="off" />
                 <button type="submit">{{ $.L.T "globals.terms.search" }}</button>
             </form>
diff --git a/static/public/web-templates/help/docs/article.html b/static/public/web-templates/help/docs/article.html
index ec6d1a1f..6ef63b8e 100644
--- a/static/public/web-templates/help/docs/article.html
+++ b/static/public/web-templates/help/docs/article.html
@@ -14,26 +14,13 @@
         <span>{{ if $showAuthor }}<span class="hcd-author">{{ .Data.Article.AuthorName }}</span> &middot; {{ end }}{{ .L.T "globals.terms.lastUpdated" }} <time class="hc-date" datetime="{{ .Data.ModifiedTime }}">{{ .Data.Article.UpdatedAt.Format "Jan 2, 2006" }}</time></span>
     </div>
     <div class="hc-article-body hcd-article-body">
-        {{ if not .Data.HelpCenter.Theme.Article.HideToc }}
-        <nav class="hc-toc{{ if .Data.TOC }} hc-toc-open{{ end }}" id="hc-toc" aria-label="{{ .L.T "helpCenter.onThisPage" }}"{{ if not .Data.TOC }} hidden{{ end }}>
-            <button class="hc-toc-title" type="button" id="hc-toc-toggle" aria-expanded="{{ if .Data.TOC }}true{{ else }}false{{ end }}" aria-controls="hc-toc-list">
-                {{ .L.T "helpCenter.onThisPage" }}
-                <svg class="hc-toc-caret" width="12" height="12" viewBox="0 0 16 16" fill="none" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M4 6l4 4 4-4" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.6" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round"/></svg>
-            </button>
-            <ul id="hc-toc-list">{{ range .Data.TOC }}<li><a href="#{{ .ID }}">{{ .Title }}</a></li>{{ end }}</ul>
-        </nav>
-        {{ end }}
+        {{ template "hc-article-toc" . }}
         <div class="hc-prose" id="hc-prose">{{ .Data.Content }}</div>
     </div>
 </article>
 
 <div class="hcd-article-foot">
-    <div class="hc-helpful" id="hc-helpful" role="group" aria-labelledby="hc-helpful-q" data-endpoint="/api/public/help-centers/{{ .Data.HelpCenter.Slug }}/articles/{{ .Data.Article.Slug }}/feedback?locale={{ .Data.Article.Locale }}">
-        <span class="hc-helpful-q" id="hc-helpful-q">{{ .L.T "helpCenter.wasHelpful" }}</span>
-        <button type="button" data-helpful="true">{{ .L.T "globals.messages.yes" }}</button>
-        <button type="button" data-helpful="false">{{ .L.T "globals.messages.no" }}</button>
-        <span class="hc-helpful-thanks" hidden>{{ .L.T "helpCenter.feedbackThanks" }}</span>
-    </div>
+    {{ template "hc-helpful" . }}
 
     {{ if and .Data.Related (not .Data.HelpCenter.Theme.Article.HideRelated) }}
     <aside class="hcd-related">
diff --git a/static/public/web-templates/help/docs/home.html b/static/public/web-templates/help/docs/home.html
index fd3936ae..f4971473 100644
--- a/static/public/web-templates/help/docs/home.html
+++ b/static/public/web-templates/help/docs/home.html
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
     <h1>{{ $heroText }}</h1>
     {{ if .Data.HelpCenter.TaglineHTML }}<p class="hcd-hero-tagline">{{ .Data.HelpCenter.TaglineHTML }}</p>{{ end }}
     <a class="hcd-hero-search" href="{{ .Data.HelpCenter.BasePath }}/search" data-hcd-search-open>
-        <svg viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.8" aria-hidden="true"><circle cx="9" cy="9" r="6" /><path d="m18 18-4.5-4.5" stroke-linecap="round" /></svg>
+        {{ template "hc-search-icon" }}
         <span>{{ .L.T "helpCenter.searchPlaceholder" }}</span>
         <span class="hcd-kbd-combo" aria-hidden="true"><kbd class="hcd-kbd hcd-kbd-mod">Ctrl</kbd><kbd class="hcd-kbd">K</kbd></span>
     </a>
diff --git a/static/public/web-templates/help/docs/layout.html b/static/public/web-templates/help/docs/layout.html
index 66da0e23..1e3e3acc 100644
--- a/static/public/web-templates/help/docs/layout.html
+++ b/static/public/web-templates/help/docs/layout.html
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
                 </a>
             </div>
             <a class="hcd-search-btn" href="{{ .Data.HelpCenter.BasePath }}/search" data-hcd-search-open>
-                <svg viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.8" aria-hidden="true"><circle cx="9" cy="9" r="6" /><path d="m18 18-4.5-4.5" stroke-linecap="round" /></svg>
+                {{ template "hc-search-icon" }}
                 <span class="hcd-search-btn-label">{{ .L.T "globals.terms.search" }}</span>
                 <span class="hcd-kbd-combo" aria-hidden="true"><kbd class="hcd-kbd hcd-kbd-mod">Ctrl</kbd><kbd class="hcd-kbd">K</kbd></span>
             </a>
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@
         <div class="hcd-search-backdrop" data-hcd-search-close></div>
         <div class="hcd-search-panel" role="dialog" aria-modal="true" aria-label="{{ .L.T "globals.terms.search" }}">
             <form class="hc-search" action="{{ .Data.HelpCenter.BasePath }}/search" method="GET" role="search" data-hc-base="{{ .Data.HelpCenter.BasePath }}" data-hc-slug="{{ .Data.HelpCenter.Slug }}" data-hc-locale="{{ .Data.HelpCenter.CurrentLocale }}" data-hc-empty="{{ .L.T "helpCenter.noResults" }}" data-hc-results-one="{{ .L.Tc "helpCenter.resultsCount" 1 }}" data-hc-results="{{ .L.Tc "helpCenter.resultsCount" 2 }}">
-                <svg class="hc-search-icon" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.8" aria-hidden="true"><circle cx="9" cy="9" r="6" /><path d="m18 18-4.5-4.5" stroke-linecap="round" /></svg>
+                {{ template "hc-search-icon" "hc-search-icon" }}
                 <input type="search" name="q" value="" placeholder="{{ .L.T "helpCenter.searchPlaceholder" }}" aria-label="{{ .L.T "helpCenter.searchPlaceholder" }}" autocomplete="off" />
                 <button type="submit" class="hc-sr-only">{{ .L.T "globals.terms.search" }}</button>
             </form>
diff --git a/static/public/web-templates/help/docs/notfound.html b/static/public/web-templates/help/docs/notfound.html
index 52dbd846..b4784588 100644
--- a/static/public/web-templates/help/docs/notfound.html
+++ b/static/public/web-templates/help/docs/notfound.html
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
     <h1>{{ .L.T "globals.messages.pageNotFound" }}</h1>
     <p>{{ .L.T "helpCenter.notFoundText" }}</p>
     <a class="hcd-notfound-search" href="{{ .Data.HelpCenter.BasePath }}/search" data-hcd-search-open>
-        <svg viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.8" aria-hidden="true"><circle cx="9" cy="9" r="6" /><path d="m18 18-4.5-4.5" stroke-linecap="round" /></svg>
+        {{ template "hc-search-icon" }}
         <span>{{ .L.T "helpCenter.searchPlaceholder" }}</span>
         <span class="hcd-kbd-combo" aria-hidden="true"><kbd class="hcd-kbd hcd-kbd-mod">Ctrl</kbd><kbd class="hcd-kbd">K</kbd></span>
     </a>
diff --git a/static/public/web-templates/help/docs/search.html b/static/public/web-templates/help/docs/search.html
index 0936b05b..6845a96e 100644
--- a/static/public/web-templates/help/docs/search.html
+++ b/static/public/web-templates/help/docs/search.html
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 {{ template "docs-header" . }}
 
 <form class="hcd-page-search" action="{{ .Data.HelpCenter.BasePath }}/search" method="GET" role="search">
-    <svg class="hc-search-icon" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.8" aria-hidden="true"><circle cx="9" cy="9" r="6" /><path d="m18 18-4.5-4.5" stroke-linecap="round" /></svg>
+    {{ template "hc-search-icon" "hc-search-icon" }}
     <input type="search" name="q" value="{{ .Data.Query }}" placeholder="{{ .L.T "helpCenter.searchPlaceholder" }}" aria-label="{{ .L.T "helpCenter.searchPlaceholder" }}" autocomplete="off" />
     <button type="submit" class="hc-sr-only">{{ .L.T "globals.terms.search" }}</button>
 </form>
diff --git a/static/public/web-templates/help/shared/partials.html b/static/public/web-templates/help/shared/partials.html
index 2d52ba58..df049362 100644
--- a/static/public/web-templates/help/shared/partials.html
+++ b/static/public/web-templates/help/shared/partials.html
@@ -26,6 +26,29 @@
                 </div>
 {{ end }}
 
+{{ define "hc-search-icon" }}<svg{{ with . }} class="{{ . }}"{{ end }} viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.8" aria-hidden="true"><circle cx="9" cy="9" r="6" /><path d="m18 18-4.5-4.5" stroke-linecap="round" /></svg>{{ end }}
+
+{{ define "hc-article-toc" }}
+{{ if not .Data.HelpCenter.Theme.Article.HideToc }}
+<nav class="hc-toc{{ if .Data.TOC }} hc-toc-open{{ end }}" id="hc-toc" aria-label="{{ .L.T "helpCenter.onThisPage" }}"{{ if not .Data.TOC }} hidden{{ end }}>
+    <button class="hc-toc-title" type="button" id="hc-toc-toggle" aria-expanded="{{ if .Data.TOC }}true{{ else }}false{{ end }}" aria-controls="hc-toc-list">
+        {{ .L.T "helpCenter.onThisPage" }}
+        <svg class="hc-toc-caret" width="12" height="12" viewBox="0 0 16 16" fill="none" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M4 6l4 4 4-4" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.6" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round"/></svg>
+    </button>
+    <ul id="hc-toc-list">{{ range .Data.TOC }}<li><a href="#{{ .ID }}">{{ .Title }}</a></li>{{ end }}</ul>
+</nav>
+{{ end }}
+{{ end }}
+
+{{ define "hc-helpful" }}
+<div class="hc-helpful" id="hc-helpful" role="group" aria-labelledby="hc-helpful-q" data-endpoint="/api/public/help-centers/{{ .Data.HelpCenter.Slug }}/articles/{{ .Data.Article.Slug }}/feedback?locale={{ .Data.Article.Locale }}">
+    <span class="hc-helpful-q" id="hc-helpful-q">{{ .L.T "helpCenter.wasHelpful" }}</span>
+    <button type="button" data-helpful="true">{{ .L.T "globals.messages.yes" }}</button>
+    <button type="button" data-helpful="false">{{ .L.T "globals.messages.no" }}</button>
+    <span class="hc-helpful-thanks" hidden>{{ .L.T "helpCenter.feedbackThanks" }}</span>
+</div>
+{{ end }}
+
 {{ define "hc-doc-icon" }}<svg class="hc-doc" viewBox="0 0 16 16" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.4" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M4 1.5h5L12.5 5v9.5h-8.5z" stroke-linejoin="round"/><path d="M8.5 1.5V5h4" stroke-linejoin="round"/></svg>{{ end }}
 {{ define "hc-arrow-icon" }}<svg class="hc-arrow" viewBox="0 0 16 16" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.6" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M5 3l5 5-5 5" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round"/></svg>{{ end }}