diff --git a/src/Page.js b/src/Page.js
index 09e2ff7eef..7416ce8540 100644
--- a/src/Page.js
+++ b/src/Page.js
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-const cheerio = require('cheerio');
+const cheerio = require('cheerio'); require('./lib/markbind/src/patches/htmlparser2');
 const fm = require('fastmatter');
 const fs = require('fs-extra-promise');
 const htmlBeautify = require('js-beautify').html;
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@ const logger = require('./util/logger');
 const MarkBind = require('./lib/markbind/src/parser');
 const md = require('./lib/markbind/src/lib/markdown-it');
 const utils = require('./lib/markbind/src/utils');
-const urlUtils = require('./lib/markbind/src/utils/urls');
 
 const CLI_VERSION = require('../package.json').version;
 
@@ -57,7 +56,6 @@ const {
   TEMP_DROPDOWN_PLACEHOLDER_CLASS,
 } = require('./constants');
 
-cheerio.prototype.options.xmlMode = true; // Enable xml mode for self-closing tag
 cheerio.prototype.options.decodeEntities = false; // Don't escape HTML entities
 
 class Page {
@@ -597,7 +595,7 @@ class Page {
       // Insert content
       .then(result => njUtil.renderRaw(result, {
         [LAYOUT_PAGE_BODY_VARIABLE]: pageData,
-      }, {}, false));
+      }));
   }
 
 
@@ -707,11 +705,11 @@ class Page {
     const siteNavHtml = md.render(navigationElements.length === 0
       ? siteNavMappedData.replace(SITE_NAV_EMPTY_LINE_REGEX, '\n')
       : navigationElements.html().replace(SITE_NAV_EMPTY_LINE_REGEX, '\n'));
-    const $nav = cheerio.load(siteNavHtml, { xmlMode: false });
+    const $nav = cheerio.load(siteNavHtml);
 
     // Add anchor classes and highlight current page's anchor, if any.
     const currentPageHtmlPath = this.src.replace(/\.(md|mbd)$/, '.html');
-    const currentPageRegex = new RegExp(`{{ *baseUrl *}}/${currentPageHtmlPath}`);
+    const currentPageRegex = new RegExp(`${this.baseUrl}/${currentPageHtmlPath}`);
     $nav('a[href]').each((i, elem) => {
       if (currentPageRegex.test($nav(elem).attr('href'))) {
         $nav(elem).addClass('current');
@@ -845,7 +843,7 @@ class Page {
    */
   buildPageNav() {
     if (this.isPageNavigationSpecifierValid()) {
-      const $ = cheerio.load(this.content, { xmlMode: false });
+      const $ = cheerio.load(this.content);
       this.navigableHeadings = {};
       this.collectNavigableHeadings($(`#${CONTENT_WRAPPER_ID}`).html());
       const pageNavTitleHtml = this.generatePageNavTitleHtml();
@@ -862,7 +860,7 @@ class Page {
     }
   }
 
-  collectHeadFiles(baseUrl, hostBaseUrl) {
+  collectHeadFiles() {
     const { head } = this.frontMatter;
     if (head === FRONT_MATTER_NONE_ATTR) {
       this.headFileTopContent = '';
@@ -890,18 +888,13 @@ class Page {
       const headFileMappedData = this.variablePreprocessor.renderSiteVariables(this.sourcePath,
                                                                                headFileContent).trim();
       // Split top and bottom contents
-      const $ = cheerio.load(headFileMappedData, { xmlMode: false });
+      const $ = cheerio.load(headFileMappedData);
       if ($('head-top').length) {
-        collectedTopContent.push(njUtil.renderRaw($('head-top').html(), {
-          baseUrl,
-          hostBaseUrl,
-        }).trim().replace(/\n\s*\n/g, '\n').replace(/\n/g, '\n    '));
+        collectedTopContent.push($('head-top').html().trim().replace(/\n\s*\n/g, '\n')
+          .replace(/\n/g, '\n    '));
         $('head-top').remove();
       }
-      collectedBottomContent.push(njUtil.renderRaw($.html(), {
-        baseUrl,
-        hostBaseUrl,
-      }).trim().replace(/\n\s*\n/g, '\n').replace(/\n/g, '\n    '));
+      collectedBottomContent.push($.html().trim().replace(/\n\s*\n/g, '\n').replace(/\n/g, '\n    '));
     });
     this.headFileTopContent = collectedTopContent.join('\n    ');
     this.headFileBottomContent = collectedBottomContent.join('\n    ');
@@ -924,7 +917,7 @@ class Page {
   }
 
   collectPageSection(section) {
-    const $ = cheerio.load(this.content, { xmlMode: false });
+    const $ = cheerio.load(this.content);
     const pageSection = $(section);
     if (pageSection.length === 0) {
       return;
@@ -962,6 +955,7 @@ class Page {
      */
     const fileConfig = {
       baseUrlMap: this.baseUrlMap,
+      baseUrl: this.baseUrl,
       rootPath: this.rootPath,
       headerIdMap: this.headerIdMap,
       fixedHeader: this.fixedHeader,
@@ -981,27 +975,16 @@ class Page {
       .then(result => this.insertHeaderFile(result, fileConfig))
       .then(result => this.insertFooterFile(result))
       .then(result => Page.insertTemporaryStyles(result))
-      .then(result => markbinder.resolveBaseUrl(result, fileConfig))
       .then(result => markbinder.render(result, this.sourcePath, fileConfig))
       .then(result => this.postRender(result))
       .then(result => this.collectPluginsAssets(result))
-      .then(result => markbinder.processDynamicResources(this.sourcePath, result))
+      .then(result => MarkBind.processDynamicResources(this.sourcePath, result, fileConfig))
       .then(result => MarkBind.unwrapIncludeSrc(result))
       .then((result) => {
-        this.content = result;
-
-        const { relative } = urlUtils.getParentSiteAbsoluteAndRelativePaths(this.sourcePath, this.rootPath,
-                                                                            this.baseUrlMap);
-        const baseUrl = relative ? `${this.baseUrl}/${utils.ensurePosix(relative)}` : this.baseUrl;
-        const hostBaseUrl = this.baseUrl;
+        this.addLayoutScriptsAndStyles();
+        this.collectHeadFiles();
 
-        this.addLayoutFiles();
-        this.collectHeadFiles(baseUrl, hostBaseUrl);
-
-        this.content = njUtil.renderString(this.content, {
-          baseUrl,
-          hostBaseUrl,
-        });
+        this.content = result;
 
         this.collectAllPageSections();
         this.buildPageNav();
@@ -1089,7 +1072,7 @@ class Page {
           pageContextSources.forEach((src) => {
             if (src === undefined || src === '' || utils.isUrl(src)) {
               return;
-            } else if (utils.isAbsolutePath(src)) {
+            } else if (path.isAbsolute(src)) {
               self.pluginSourceFiles.add(path.resolve(src));
               return;
             }
@@ -1103,7 +1086,7 @@ class Page {
         }
 
         if (domTagSourcesMap) {
-          const $ = cheerio.load(content, { xmlMode: true });
+          const $ = cheerio.load(content);
 
           domTagSourcesMap.forEach(([tagName, attrName]) => {
             if (!_.isString(tagName) || !_.isString(attrName)) {
@@ -1121,7 +1104,7 @@ class Page {
                 src = ensurePosix(src);
                 if (src === '' || utils.isUrl(src)) {
                   return;
-                } else if (utils.isAbsolutePath(src)) {
+                } else if (path.isAbsolute(src)) {
                   self.pluginSourceFiles.add(path.resolve(src));
                   return;
                 }
@@ -1182,7 +1165,7 @@ class Page {
    * @return String html of the element, with the attribute's asset resolved
    */
   getResolvedAssetElement(assetElementHtml, tagName, attrName, plugin, pluginName) {
-    const $ = cheerio.load(assetElementHtml, { xmlMode: false });
+    const $ = cheerio.load(assetElementHtml);
     const el = $(`${tagName}[${attrName}]`);
 
     el.attr(attrName, (i, assetPath) => {
@@ -1245,7 +1228,7 @@ class Page {
   /**
    * Adds linked layout files to page assets
    */
-  addLayoutFiles() {
+  addLayoutScriptsAndStyles() {
     this.asset.layoutScript = path.join(this.layoutsAssetPath, this.frontMatter.layout, 'scripts.js');
     this.asset.layoutStyle = path.join(this.layoutsAssetPath, this.frontMatter.layout, 'styles.css');
   }
@@ -1272,41 +1255,30 @@ class Page {
       const markbinder = new MarkBind({
         variablePreprocessor: this.variablePreprocessor,
       });
+      /**
+       * @type {FileConfig}
+       */
+      const fileConfig = {
+        baseUrlMap: this.baseUrlMap,
+        baseUrl: this.baseUrl,
+        rootPath: this.rootPath,
+        headerIdMap: {},
+        cwf: file,
+      };
       return fs.readFileAsync(dependency.to, 'utf-8')
-        .then(result => markbinder.includeFile(dependency.to, result, {
-          baseUrlMap: this.baseUrlMap,
-          rootPath: this.rootPath,
-          cwf: file,
-        }))
+        .then(result => markbinder.includeFile(dependency.to, result, fileConfig))
         .then(result => Page.removeFrontMatter(result))
         .then(result => this.collectPluginSources(result))
         .then(result => this.preRender(result))
-        .then(result => markbinder.resolveBaseUrl(result, {
-          baseUrlMap: this.baseUrlMap,
-          rootPath: this.rootPath,
-        }))
-        .then(result => markbinder.render(result, this.sourcePath, {
-          baseUrlMap: this.baseUrlMap,
-          rootPath: this.rootPath,
-          headerIdMap: {},
-        }))
+        .then(result => markbinder.render(result, this.sourcePath, fileConfig))
         .then(result => this.postRender(result))
         .then(result => this.collectPluginsAssets(result))
-        .then(result => markbinder.processDynamicResources(file, result))
+        .then(result => MarkBind.processDynamicResources(file, result, fileConfig))
         .then(result => MarkBind.unwrapIncludeSrc(result))
         .then((result) => {
-          // resolve the site base url here
-          const { relative } = urlUtils.getParentSiteAbsoluteAndRelativePaths(file, this.rootPath,
-                                                                              this.baseUrlMap);
-          const baseUrl = relative ? `${this.baseUrl}/${utils.ensurePosix(relative)}` : this.baseUrl;
-          const hostBaseUrl = this.baseUrl;
-          const content = njUtil.renderString(result, {
-            baseUrl,
-            hostBaseUrl,
-          });
           const outputContentHTML = this.disableHtmlBeautify
-            ? content
-            : htmlBeautify(content, Page.htmlBeautifyOptions);
+            ? result
+            : htmlBeautify(result, Page.htmlBeautifyOptions);
           return fs.outputFileAsync(resultPath, outputContentHTML);
         })
         .then(() => {
diff --git a/src/Site.js b/src/Site.js
index fd4aca7b31..91335d7ebc 100644
--- a/src/Site.js
+++ b/src/Site.js
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-const cheerio = require('cheerio');
+const cheerio = require('cheerio'); require('./lib/markbind/src/patches/htmlparser2');
 const fs = require('fs-extra-promise');
 const ghpages = require('gh-pages');
 const ignore = require('ignore');
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ const njUtil = require('./lib/markbind/src/utils/nunjuckUtils');
 const injectHtmlParser2SpecialTags = require('./lib/markbind/src/patches/htmlparser2');
 const injectMarkdownItSpecialTags = require(
   './lib/markbind/src/lib/markdown-it/markdown-it-escape-special-tags');
+const utils = require('./lib/markbind/src/utils');
 
 const _ = {};
 _.difference = require('lodash/difference');
@@ -524,8 +525,6 @@ class Site {
    * Collects the user defined variables map in the site/subsites
    */
   collectUserDefinedVariablesMap() {
-    // The key is the base directory of the site/subsites,
-    // while the value is a mapping of user defined variables
     this.variablePreprocessor.resetUserDefinedVariablesMap();
 
     this.baseUrlMap.forEach((base) => {
@@ -540,13 +539,17 @@ class Site {
       }
 
       /*
-       This is to prevent the first nunjuck call from converting {{baseUrl}} to an empty string
-       and let the baseUrl value be injected later.
+       We retrieve the baseUrl of the (sub)site by appending the relative to the configured base url
+       i.e. We ignore the configured baseUrl of the sub sites.
        */
-      this.variablePreprocessor.addUserDefinedVariable(base, 'baseUrl', '{{baseUrl}}');
+      const siteRelativePathFromRoot = utils.ensurePosix(path.relative(this.rootPath, base));
+      const siteBaseUrl = siteRelativePathFromRoot === ''
+        ? this.siteConfig.baseUrl
+        : path.posix.join(this.siteConfig.baseUrl || '/', siteRelativePathFromRoot);
+      this.variablePreprocessor.addUserDefinedVariable(base, 'baseUrl', siteBaseUrl);
       this.variablePreprocessor.addUserDefinedVariable(base, 'MarkBind', MARKBIND_LINK_HTML);
 
-      const $ = cheerio.load(content);
+      const $ = cheerio.load(content, { decodeEntities: false });
       $('variable,span').each((index, element) => {
         const name = $(element).attr('name') || $(element).attr('id');
         const variableSource = $(element).attr('from');
diff --git a/src/lib/markbind/src/constants.js b/src/lib/markbind/src/constants.js
index 3ff5b152fc..2d8dd96aa0 100644
--- a/src/lib/markbind/src/constants.js
+++ b/src/lib/markbind/src/constants.js
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 module.exports = {
   // src/lib/markbind/src/parser.js
-  ATTRIB_INCLUDE_PATH: 'include-path',
   ATTRIB_CWF: 'cwf',
 
   BOILERPLATE_FOLDER_NAME: '_markbind/boilerplates',
diff --git a/src/lib/markbind/src/parser.js b/src/lib/markbind/src/parser.js
index 30a83b3303..c50574b697 100644
--- a/src/lib/markbind/src/parser.js
+++ b/src/lib/markbind/src/parser.js
@@ -3,11 +3,9 @@ const htmlparser = require('htmlparser2'); require('./patches/htmlparser2');
 const path = require('path');
 const Promise = require('bluebird');
 const slugify = require('@sindresorhus/slugify');
-const ensurePosix = require('ensure-posix-path');
 const componentParser = require('./parsers/componentParser');
 const componentPreprocessor = require('./preprocessors/componentPreprocessor');
 const logger = require('../../../util/logger');
-const njUtil = require('./utils/nunjuckUtils');
 
 const _ = {};
 _.clone = require('lodash/clone');
@@ -18,16 +16,9 @@ _.isEmpty = require('lodash/isEmpty');
 
 const md = require('./lib/markdown-it');
 const utils = require('./utils');
-const urlUtils = require('./utils/urls');
 
-cheerio.prototype.options.xmlMode = true; // Enable xml mode for self-closing tag
 cheerio.prototype.options.decodeEntities = false; // Don't escape HTML entities
 
-const {
-  ATTRIB_INCLUDE_PATH,
-  ATTRIB_CWF,
-} = require('./constants');
-
 class Parser {
   constructor(config) {
     this.variablePreprocessor = config.variablePreprocessor;
@@ -48,20 +39,16 @@ class Parser {
     return _.clone(this.missingIncludeSrc);
   }
 
-  processDynamicResources(context, html) {
-    const $ = cheerio.load(html, {
-      xmlMode: false,
-      decodeEntities: false,
-    });
+  static processDynamicResources(context, html, config) {
+    const $ = cheerio.load(html);
 
-    const { rootPath } = this;
     function getAbsoluteResourcePath(elem, relativeResourcePath) {
       const firstParent = elem.closest('div[data-included-from], span[data-included-from]');
       const originalSrc = utils.ensurePosix(firstParent.attr('data-included-from') || context);
       const originalSrcFolder = path.posix.dirname(originalSrc);
       const fullResourcePath = path.posix.join(originalSrcFolder, relativeResourcePath);
-      const resolvedResourcePath = path.posix.relative(utils.ensurePosix(rootPath), fullResourcePath);
-      return path.posix.join('{{hostBaseUrl}}', resolvedResourcePath);
+      const resolvedResourcePath = path.posix.relative(utils.ensurePosix(config.rootPath), fullResourcePath);
+      return path.posix.join(config.baseUrl || '/', resolvedResourcePath);
     }
 
     $('img, pic, thumbnail').each(function () {
@@ -70,7 +57,7 @@ class Parser {
         return;
       }
       const resourcePath = utils.ensurePosix(elem.attr('src'));
-      if (utils.isAbsolutePath(resourcePath) || utils.isUrl(resourcePath)) {
+      if (path.isAbsolute(resourcePath) || utils.isUrl(resourcePath)) {
         // Do not rewrite.
         return;
       }
@@ -84,7 +71,7 @@ class Parser {
         // Found empty href resource in resourcePath
         return;
       }
-      if (utils.isAbsolutePath(resourcePath) || utils.isUrl(resourcePath) || resourcePath.startsWith('#')) {
+      if (path.isAbsolute(resourcePath) || utils.isUrl(resourcePath) || resourcePath.startsWith('#')) {
         // Do not rewrite.
         return;
       }
@@ -95,10 +82,7 @@ class Parser {
   }
 
   static unwrapIncludeSrc(html) {
-    const $ = cheerio.load(html, {
-      xmlMode: false,
-      decodeEntities: false,
-    });
+    const $ = cheerio.load(html);
     $('div[data-included-from], span[data-included-from]').each(function () {
       $(this).replaceWith($(this).contents());
     });
@@ -139,32 +123,12 @@ class Parser {
     switch (node.name) {
     case 'md':
       node.name = 'span';
-      cheerio.prototype.options.xmlMode = false;
       node.children = cheerio.parseHTML(md.renderInline(cheerio.html(node.children)), true);
-      cheerio.prototype.options.xmlMode = true;
       break;
     case 'markdown':
       node.name = 'div';
-      cheerio.prototype.options.xmlMode = false;
       node.children = cheerio.parseHTML(md.render(cheerio.html(node.children)), true);
-      cheerio.prototype.options.xmlMode = true;
-      break;
-    case 'panel': {
-      if (!_.hasIn(node.attribs, 'src')) { // dynamic panel
-        break;
-      }
-      const fileExists = utils.fileExists(node.attribs.src)
-          || utils.fileExists(urlUtils.calculateBoilerplateFilePath(node.attribs.boilerplate,
-                                                                    node.attribs.src, config));
-      if (fileExists) {
-        const { src, fragment } = node.attribs;
-        const resultDir = path.dirname(path.join('{{hostBaseUrl}}', path.relative(config.rootPath, src)));
-        const resultPath = path.join(resultDir, utils.setExtension(path.basename(src), '._include_.html'));
-        node.attribs.src = utils.ensurePosix(fragment ? `${resultPath}#${fragment}` : resultPath);
-      }
-      delete node.attribs.boilerplate;
       break;
-    }
     default:
       break;
     }
@@ -230,10 +194,7 @@ class Parser {
         });
         resolve(cheerio.html(nodes));
       });
-      const parser = new htmlparser.Parser(handler, {
-        xmlMode: true,
-        decodeEntities: true,
-      });
+      const parser = new htmlparser.Parser(handler);
 
       const renderedContent = this.variablePreprocessor.renderPage(file, content, additionalVariables);
 
@@ -272,14 +233,9 @@ class Parser {
         nodes.forEach((d) => {
           this._trimNodes(d);
         });
-        cheerio.prototype.options.xmlMode = false;
         resolve(cheerio.html(nodes));
-        cheerio.prototype.options.xmlMode = true;
-      });
-      const parser = new htmlparser.Parser(handler, {
-        xmlMode: true,
-        decodeEntities: false,
       });
+      const parser = new htmlparser.Parser(handler);
       const fileExt = utils.getExt(filePath);
       if (utils.isMarkdownFileExt(fileExt)) {
         const renderedContent = md.render(content);
@@ -293,78 +249,6 @@ class Parser {
     });
   }
 
-  resolveBaseUrl(pageData, config) {
-    const { baseUrlMap, rootPath } = config;
-    this.baseUrlMap = baseUrlMap;
-    this.rootPath = rootPath;
-
-    return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
-      const handler = new htmlparser.DomHandler((error, dom) => {
-        if (error) {
-          reject(error);
-          return;
-        }
-        const nodes = dom.map(d => this._rebaseReference(d));
-        cheerio.prototype.options.xmlMode = false;
-        resolve(cheerio.html(nodes));
-        cheerio.prototype.options.xmlMode = true;
-      });
-      const parser = new htmlparser.Parser(handler, {
-        xmlMode: true,
-        decodeEntities: true,
-      });
-      parser.parseComplete(pageData);
-    });
-  }
-
-  /**
-   * Pre-renders the baseUrl of the provided node and its children according to
-   * the site they belong to, such that the final call to render baseUrl correctly
-   * resolves baseUrl according to the said site.
-   */
-  _rebaseReference(node) {
-    if (_.isArray(node)) {
-      return node.map(el => this._rebaseReference(el));
-    }
-    if (Parser.isText(node)) {
-      return node;
-    }
-
-    // Rebase children elements
-    node.children.forEach(el => this._rebaseReference(el));
-
-    const includeSourceFile = node.attribs[ATTRIB_CWF];
-    const includedSourceFile = node.attribs[ATTRIB_INCLUDE_PATH];
-    delete node.attribs[ATTRIB_CWF];
-    delete node.attribs[ATTRIB_INCLUDE_PATH];
-
-    // Skip rebasing for non-includes
-    if (!includedSourceFile || !node.children) {
-      return node;
-    }
-
-    // The site at which the file with the include element was pre-processed
-    const currentBase = urlUtils.getParentSiteAbsolutePath(includeSourceFile, this.rootPath, this.baseUrlMap);
-    // The site of the included file
-    const newBase = urlUtils.getParentSiteAbsoluteAndRelativePaths(includedSourceFile, this.rootPath,
-                                                                   this.baseUrlMap);
-
-    // Only re-render if include src and content are from different sites
-    if (currentBase !== newBase.absolute) {
-      cheerio.prototype.options.xmlMode = false;
-      const rendered = njUtil.renderRaw(cheerio.html(node.children), {
-        // This is to prevent the nunjuck call from converting {{hostBaseUrl}} to an empty string
-        // and let the hostBaseUrl value be injected later.
-        hostBaseUrl: '{{hostBaseUrl}}',
-        baseUrl: `{{hostBaseUrl}}/${ensurePosix(newBase.relative)}`,
-      }, { path: includedSourceFile });
-      node.children = cheerio.parseHTML(rendered, true);
-      cheerio.prototype.options.xmlMode = true;
-    }
-
-    return node;
-  }
-
   static isText(node) {
     return node.type === 'text' || node.type === 'comment';
   }
diff --git a/src/lib/markbind/src/parsers/componentParser.js b/src/lib/markbind/src/parsers/componentParser.js
index e4665b59f3..1c4735b4c5 100644
--- a/src/lib/markbind/src/parsers/componentParser.js
+++ b/src/lib/markbind/src/parsers/componentParser.js
@@ -6,7 +6,10 @@ _.has = require('lodash/has');
 const md = require('../lib/markdown-it');
 const logger = require('../../../../util/logger');
 
-cheerio.prototype.options.xmlMode = true; // Enable xml mode for self-closing tag
+const {
+  ATTRIB_CWF,
+} = require('../constants');
+
 cheerio.prototype.options.decodeEntities = false; // Don't escape HTML entities
 
 /*
@@ -483,6 +486,10 @@ function postParseComponents(node) {
   } catch (error) {
     logger.error(error);
   }
+
+  if (node.attribs) {
+    delete node.attribs[ATTRIB_CWF];
+  }
 }
 
 
diff --git a/src/lib/markbind/src/patches/htmlparser2.js b/src/lib/markbind/src/patches/htmlparser2.js
index 526e3b7db2..62b5ab360d 100644
--- a/src/lib/markbind/src/patches/htmlparser2.js
+++ b/src/lib/markbind/src/patches/htmlparser2.js
@@ -1,4 +1,32 @@
-const { Tokenizer } = require('htmlparser2');
+/*
+ * Four behaviours of htmlparser2 are patched here, the first 2 being 'convenience' patches
+ * to avoid repeated passing of lowerCaseAttributeNames and recognizeSelfClosing options.
+ * 1. Defaulting to self closing tag recognition
+ * 2. Disabling automatic attribute name conversion to lower case
+ * 3. Recognising text in markdown inline code / code blocks as raw text
+ * 4. Ability to inject/whitelist certain tags to be parsed like script/style tags do. (special tags)
+ */
+
+const { Tokenizer, Parser } = require('htmlparser2');
+
+/*
+ Enable any self closing tags '<xx />' to be parsed.
+ This allows MarkBind's own components to be recognised as such (e.g. '<panel />').
+ This is equivalent to the { recognizeSelfClosing: true } option of htmlparser2;
+ We modify the relevant code to avoid passing it in repeatedly.
+ */
+Parser.prototype.onselfclosingtag = function () {
+  this._closeCurrentTag();
+};
+
+/*
+ Disable automatic lower case conversion.
+ This is equivalent to the { lowerCaseAttributeNames: false } option of htmlparser2;
+ We modify the relevant code to avoid passing it in repeatedly as well.
+ */
+Parser.prototype.onattribname = function (name) {
+  this._attribname = name;
+};
 
 const MARKDOWN = Symbol('MARKDOWN');
 
diff --git a/src/lib/markbind/src/preprocessors/componentPreprocessor.js b/src/lib/markbind/src/preprocessors/componentPreprocessor.js
index a4b7a749fc..bd0d69133b 100644
--- a/src/lib/markbind/src/preprocessors/componentPreprocessor.js
+++ b/src/lib/markbind/src/preprocessors/componentPreprocessor.js
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@ _.has = require('lodash/has');
 _.isEmpty = require('lodash/isEmpty');
 
 const {
-  ATTRIB_INCLUDE_PATH,
   ATTRIB_CWF,
 } = require('../constants');
 
@@ -81,19 +80,20 @@ function _getSrcFlagsAndFilePaths(element, context, config) {
   // We do this even if the src is not a url to get the hash, if any
   const includeSrc = url.parse(element.attribs.src);
 
-  const baseUrlRegex = new RegExp('^{{\\s*baseUrl\\s*}}[/\\\\]');
-
   let filePath;
   if (isUrl) {
     filePath = element.attribs.src;
   } else {
     const includePath = decodeURIComponent(includeSrc.path);
 
-    if (baseUrlRegex.test(includePath)) {
-      // The baseUrl has not been resolved during pre-processing, but we need the source file path
-      const parentSitePath = urlUtils.getParentSiteAbsolutePath(context.cwf, config.rootPath,
-                                                                config.baseUrlMap);
-      filePath = path.resolve(parentSitePath, includePath.replace(baseUrlRegex, ''));
+    if (path.posix.isAbsolute(includePath)) {
+      /*
+       If the src starts with the baseUrl (or simply '/' if there is no baseUrl specified),
+       get the relative path from the rootPath first,
+       then use it to resolve the absolute path of the referenced file on the filesystem.
+       */
+      const relativePathToFile = path.posix.relative(`${config.baseUrl}/`, includePath);
+      filePath = path.resolve(config.rootPath, relativePathToFile);
     } else {
       filePath = path.resolve(path.dirname(context.cwf), includePath);
     }
@@ -123,16 +123,14 @@ function _getSrcFlagsAndFilePaths(element, context, config) {
  * and adds the appropriate include.
  */
 function _preProcessPanel(node, context, config, parser) {
-  const element = node;
-
-  const hasSrc = _.has(element.attribs, 'src');
+  const hasSrc = _.has(node.attribs, 'src');
   if (!hasSrc) {
-    if (element.children && element.children.length > 0) {
+    if (node.children && node.children.length > 0) {
       // eslint-disable-next-line no-use-before-define
-      element.children = element.children.map(e => preProcessComponent(e, context, config, parser));
+      node.children = node.children.map(e => preProcessComponent(e, context, config, parser));
     }
 
-    return element;
+    return node;
   }
 
   const {
@@ -140,22 +138,27 @@ function _preProcessPanel(node, context, config, parser) {
     hash,
     filePath,
     actualFilePath,
-  } = _getSrcFlagsAndFilePaths(element, context, config);
+  } = _getSrcFlagsAndFilePaths(node, context, config);
 
-  const fileExistsNode = _getFileExistsNode(element, context, config, parser, actualFilePath);
+  const fileExistsNode = _getFileExistsNode(node, context, config, parser, actualFilePath);
   if (fileExistsNode) {
     return fileExistsNode;
   }
 
   if (!isUrl && hash) {
-    element.attribs.fragment = hash.substring(1);
+    node.attribs.fragment = hash.substring(1);
   }
 
-  element.attribs.src = filePath;
+  const { fragment } = node.attribs;
+  const relativePath = utils.setExtension(path.relative(config.rootPath, filePath), '._include_.html');
+  const fullResourcePath = path.posix.join(`${config.baseUrl}/`, utils.ensurePosix(relativePath));
+  node.attribs.src = fragment ? `${fullResourcePath}#${fragment}` : fullResourcePath;
+
+  delete node.attribs.boilerplate;
 
   parser.dynamicIncludeSrc.push({ from: context.cwf, to: actualFilePath, asIfTo: filePath });
 
-  return element;
+  return node;
 }
 
 
@@ -231,7 +234,6 @@ function _preprocessInclude(node, context, config, parser) {
   const isTrim = _.has(element.attribs, 'trim');
 
   element.name = isInline ? 'span' : 'div';
-  element.attribs[ATTRIB_INCLUDE_PATH] = filePath;
 
   // No need to process url contents
   if (isUrl) return element;
diff --git a/src/lib/markbind/src/preprocessors/variablePreprocessor.js b/src/lib/markbind/src/preprocessors/variablePreprocessor.js
index c260ddeb2f..e77c230ec6 100644
--- a/src/lib/markbind/src/preprocessors/variablePreprocessor.js
+++ b/src/lib/markbind/src/preprocessors/variablePreprocessor.js
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ class VariablePreprocessor {
    * This is to allow using previously declared site variables in site variables declared later on.
    */
   renderAndAddUserDefinedVariable(site, name, value) {
-    const renderedVal = njUtil.renderRaw(value, this.userDefinedVariablesMap[site], {}, false);
+    const renderedVal = njUtil.renderRaw(value, this.userDefinedVariablesMap[site]);
     this.addUserDefinedVariable(site, name, renderedVal);
   }
 
diff --git a/src/lib/markbind/src/utils/index.js b/src/lib/markbind/src/utils/index.js
index b46bebf05f..506f959498 100644
--- a/src/lib/markbind/src/utils/index.js
+++ b/src/lib/markbind/src/utils/index.js
@@ -62,12 +62,6 @@ module.exports = {
     return r.test(filePath);
   },
 
-  isAbsolutePath(filePath) {
-    return path.isAbsolute(filePath)
-            || filePath.includes('{{baseUrl}}')
-            || filePath.includes('{{hostBaseUrl}}');
-  },
-
   createErrorNode(element, error) {
     const errorElement = cheerio.parseHTML(
       `<div style="color: red">${error.message}</div>`, true)[0];
diff --git a/src/lib/markbind/src/utils/nunjuckUtils.js b/src/lib/markbind/src/utils/nunjuckUtils.js
index 0f30a61b1b..c9dbacd951 100644
--- a/src/lib/markbind/src/utils/nunjuckUtils.js
+++ b/src/lib/markbind/src/utils/nunjuckUtils.js
@@ -1,73 +1,13 @@
 const nunjucks = require('nunjucks');
 const dateFilter = require('../lib/nunjucks-extensions/nunjucks-date');
 
-const commonEnv = nunjucks.configure().addFilter('date', dateFilter);
 const unescapedEnv = nunjucks.configure({ autoescape: false }).addFilter('date', dateFilter);
 
-const START_ESCAPE_STR = '{% raw %}';
-const END_ESCAPE_STR = '{% endraw %}';
-const RAW_TAG_REGEX = new RegExp('{% *(end)?raw *%}', 'g');
-
-/**
- * Pads the outermost {% raw %} {% endraw %} pairs with {% raw %} {% endraw %} again.
- * This allows variables and other nunjuck syntax inside {% raw %} {% endraw %} tags
- * to be ignored by nunjucks until the final renderString call.
- */
-function preEscapeRawTags(pageData) {
-  // TODO simplify using re.matchAll once node v10 reaches 'eol'
-  // https://github.com/nodejs/Release#nodejs-release-working-group
-  const tagMatches = [];
-  let tagMatch = RAW_TAG_REGEX.exec(pageData);
-  while (tagMatch !== null) {
-    tagMatches.push(tagMatch);
-    tagMatch = RAW_TAG_REGEX.exec(pageData);
-  }
-
-  const tagInfos = Array.from(tagMatches, match => ({
-    isStartTag: !match[0].includes('endraw'),
-    index: match.index,
-    content: match[0],
-  }));
-
-  let numStartRawTags = 0; // nesting level of {% raw %}
-  let lastTokenEnd = 0;
-  const tokens = [];
-
-  for (let i = 0; i < tagInfos.length; i += 1) {
-    const { index, isStartTag, content } = tagInfos[i];
-    const currentTokenEnd = index + content.length;
-    tokens.push(pageData.slice(lastTokenEnd, currentTokenEnd));
-    lastTokenEnd = currentTokenEnd;
-
-    if (isStartTag) {
-      if (numStartRawTags === 0) {
-        // only pad outermost {% raw %} with an extra {% raw %}
-        tokens.push(START_ESCAPE_STR);
-      }
-      numStartRawTags += 1;
-    } else {
-      if (numStartRawTags === 1) {
-        // only pad outermost {% endraw %} with an extra {% endraw %}
-        tokens.push(END_ESCAPE_STR);
-      }
-      numStartRawTags -= 1;
-    }
-  }
-  // add the last token
-  tokens.push(pageData.slice(lastTokenEnd));
-
-  return tokens.join('');
-}
-
 module.exports = {
-  renderRaw(pageData, variableMap = {}, options = {}, autoescape = true) {
-    const escapedPage = preEscapeRawTags(pageData);
-    if (autoescape) return commonEnv.renderString(escapedPage, variableMap, options);
-    return unescapedEnv.renderString(escapedPage, variableMap, options);
-  },
-  renderString(pageData, variableMap = {}, options = {}, env = commonEnv) {
-    return env.renderString(pageData, variableMap, options);
+  renderRaw(pageData, variableMap = {}) {
+    return unescapedEnv.renderString(pageData, variableMap);
   },
+
   compile(src, ...args) {
     return nunjucks.compile(src, unescapedEnv, ...args);
   },
diff --git a/src/plugins/algolia.js b/src/plugins/algolia.js
index 02759870e7..460cda3807 100644
--- a/src/plugins/algolia.js
+++ b/src/plugins/algolia.js
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ function buildAlgoliaInitScript(pluginContext) {
 }
 
 function addNoIndexClasses(content) {
-  const $ = cheerio.load(content, { xmlMode: false });
+  const $ = cheerio.load(content);
   const noIndexSelectors = [
     'dropdown',
     'b-modal',
diff --git a/src/plugins/codeBlockCopyButtons.js b/src/plugins/codeBlockCopyButtons.js
index 7c11b169d1..c34244cb5c 100644
--- a/src/plugins/codeBlockCopyButtons.js
+++ b/src/plugins/codeBlockCopyButtons.js
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ const copyCodeBlockScript = `<script>
 module.exports = {
   getScripts: () => [copyCodeBlockScript],
   postRender: (content) => {
-    const $ = cheerio.load(content, { xmlMode: false });
+    const $ = cheerio.load(content);
     const codeBlockSelector = 'pre';
     const buttonHTML = getButtonHTML();
     $(codeBlockSelector).each((i, codeBlock) => {
diff --git a/src/plugins/default/markbind-plugin-anchors.js b/src/plugins/default/markbind-plugin-anchors.js
index 6dcdc900d5..2767b0467c 100644
--- a/src/plugins/default/markbind-plugin-anchors.js
+++ b/src/plugins/default/markbind-plugin-anchors.js
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ const CSS_FILE_NAME = 'markbind-plugin-anchors.css';
 module.exports = {
   getLinks: (content, pluginContext, frontMatter, utils) => [utils.buildStylesheet(CSS_FILE_NAME)],
   postRender: (content) => {
-    const $ = cheerio.load(content, { xmlMode: false });
+    const $ = cheerio.load(content);
     $(':header').each((i, heading) => {
       if ($(heading).attr('id')) {
         $(heading).append(
diff --git a/src/plugins/default/markbind-plugin-footnotes-popovers.js b/src/plugins/default/markbind-plugin-footnotes-popovers.js
index 4d8a7172ee..8dd285fb7a 100644
--- a/src/plugins/default/markbind-plugin-footnotes-popovers.js
+++ b/src/plugins/default/markbind-plugin-footnotes-popovers.js
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ const { parseComponents } = require('../../lib/markbind/src/parsers/componentPar
 
 module.exports = {
   postRender: (content) => {
-    const $ = cheerio.load(content, { xmlMode: false });
+    const $ = cheerio.load(content);
     let popoversHtml = '';
     $('li.footnote-item').each((index, li) => {
       const id = `pop:footnote${index + 1}`;
diff --git a/src/plugins/default/markbind-plugin-plantuml.js b/src/plugins/default/markbind-plugin-plantuml.js
index 4862a991e1..1275883a62 100644
--- a/src/plugins/default/markbind-plugin-plantuml.js
+++ b/src/plugins/default/markbind-plugin-plantuml.js
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ module.exports = {
     // Clear <puml> tags processed before for live reload
     processedDiagrams.clear();
     // Processes all <puml> tags
-    const $ = cheerio.load(content, { xmlMode: true });
+    const $ = cheerio.load(content);
     $('puml').each((i, tag) => {
       tag.name = 'pic';
       const { cwf } = tag.attribs;
diff --git a/src/plugins/default/markbind-plugin-shorthandSyntax.js b/src/plugins/default/markbind-plugin-shorthandSyntax.js
index 4888bc3d7e..676fbc6641 100644
--- a/src/plugins/default/markbind-plugin-shorthandSyntax.js
+++ b/src/plugins/default/markbind-plugin-shorthandSyntax.js
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ function convertPanelHeadings($) {
  */
 module.exports = {
   postRender: (content) => {
-    const $ = cheerio.load(content, { xmlMode: false });
+    const $ = cheerio.load(content);
     convertPanelHeadings($);
     return $.html();
   },
diff --git a/src/plugins/filterTags.js b/src/plugins/filterTags.js
index d06dfb4b99..f169488aa4 100644
--- a/src/plugins/filterTags.js
+++ b/src/plugins/filterTags.js
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ function filterTags(tags, content) {
   if (!tags) {
     return content;
   }
-  const $ = cheerio.load(content, { xmlMode: false });
+  const $ = cheerio.load(content);
   const tagOperations = tags.map(tag => ({
     // Trim leading + or -, replace * with .*, add ^ and $
     tagExp: `^${escapeRegExp(tag.replace(/^(\+|-)/g, '')).replace(/\\\*/, '.*')}$`,
diff --git a/test/functional/test_site/_markbind/boilerplates/folder/inside.md b/test/functional/test_site/_markbind/boilerplates/folder/inside.md
index 62021a33e5..56f7df4db6 100644
--- a/test/functional/test_site/_markbind/boilerplates/folder/inside.md
+++ b/test/functional/test_site/_markbind/boilerplates/folder/inside.md
@@ -6,4 +6,4 @@ Also, the boilerplate file name (e.g. `inside.md`) and the file that it is suppo
 
 This file should behaves as if it is in the `requirements` folder:  
 
-<panel header="Tested with the folllowing include" src="NonFunctionalRequirements.md" >
+<panel header="Tested with the folllowing include" src="NonFunctionalRequirements.md" />
diff --git a/test/functional/test_site/_markbind/plugins/testMarkbindPlugin.js b/test/functional/test_site/_markbind/plugins/testMarkbindPlugin.js
index 5b2af6261a..bb7731d90d 100644
--- a/test/functional/test_site/_markbind/plugins/testMarkbindPlugin.js
+++ b/test/functional/test_site/_markbind/plugins/testMarkbindPlugin.js
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ module.exports = {
   preRender: (content, pluginContext) =>
     content.replace('Markbind Plugin Pre-render Placeholder', `${pluginContext.pre}`),
   postRender: (content, pluginContext) => {
-    const $ = cheerio.load(content, { xmlMode: false });
+    const $ = cheerio.load(content);
     $('#test-markbind-plugin').append(`${pluginContext.post}`);
     return $.html();
   },
diff --git a/test/functional/test_site/expected/_markbind/plugins/testMarkbindPlugin.js b/test/functional/test_site/expected/_markbind/plugins/testMarkbindPlugin.js
index 5b2af6261a..bb7731d90d 100644
--- a/test/functional/test_site/expected/_markbind/plugins/testMarkbindPlugin.js
+++ b/test/functional/test_site/expected/_markbind/plugins/testMarkbindPlugin.js
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ module.exports = {
   preRender: (content, pluginContext) =>
     content.replace('Markbind Plugin Pre-render Placeholder', `${pluginContext.pre}`),
   postRender: (content, pluginContext) => {
-    const $ = cheerio.load(content, { xmlMode: false });
+    const $ = cheerio.load(content);
     $('#test-markbind-plugin').append(`${pluginContext.post}`);
     return $.html();
   },
diff --git a/test/functional/test_site/expected/index.html b/test/functional/test_site/expected/index.html
index cbdfb01dc5..5dbc65cb4e 100644
--- a/test/functional/test_site/expected/index.html
+++ b/test/functional/test_site/expected/index.html
@@ -235,6 +235,7 @@ <h1 id="panel-without-heading-with-keyword">Panel without heading with keyword<a
             <h1 id="keyword-should-be-tagged-to-this-heading-not-the-panel-heading">Keyword should be tagged to this heading, not the panel heading<a class="fa fa-anchor" href="#keyword-should-be-tagged-to-this-heading-not-the-panel-heading" onclick="event.stopPropagation()"></a></h1>
             <p><span class="keyword">panel keyword</span></p>
           </panel>
+          <p></p>
           <p><strong>Unexpanded panel with heading with keyword</strong>
             <panel id="panel-with-heading-with-keyword"><template slot="_header">
                 <h1 id="panel-with-heading-with-keyword">Panel with heading with keyword<a class="fa fa-anchor" href="#panel-with-heading-with-keyword" onclick="event.stopPropagation()"></a></h1>
@@ -340,11 +341,11 @@ <h1 id="path-within-the-boilerplate-folder-is-separately-specified">Path within
             <p>Like static include, pages within the site should be able to use files located in folders within boilerplate.</p>
             <p>Also, the boilerplate file name (e.g. <code v-pre="">inside.md</code>) and the file that it is supposed to act as (<code v-pre="">notInside.md</code>) can be different.</p>
             <p>This file should behaves as if it is in the <code v-pre="">requirements</code> folder:</p>
-            <panel src="/test_site/requirements/NonFunctionalRequirements._include_.html"><template slot="_header">
-                <p>Tested with the folllowing include</p>
-              </template>
-              <p></p>
-            </panel>
+            <p>
+              <panel src="/test_site/requirements/NonFunctionalRequirements._include_.html"><template slot="_header">
+                  <p>Tested with the folllowing include</p>
+                </template></panel>
+            </p>
           </div>
           <p><strong>Nested include</strong></p>
           <div>
@@ -652,11 +653,9 @@ <h1 id="markbind-plugin-pre-render">Markbind Plugin Pre-render<a class="fa fa-an
         <h2 class="no-index" id="level-2-header-inside-headingsearchindex-with-no-index-attribute-should-not-be-indexed">Level 2 header (inside headingSearchIndex) with no-index attribute should not be indexed<a class="fa fa-anchor" href="#level-2-header-inside-headingsearchindex-with-no-index-attribute-should-not-be-indexed" onclick="event.stopPropagation()"></a></h2>
         <h6 class="always-index" id="level-6-header-outside-headingsearchindex-with-always-index-attribute-should-be-indexed">Level 6 header (outside headingSearchIndex) with always-index attribute should be indexed<a class="fa fa-anchor" href="#level-6-header-outside-headingsearchindex-with-always-index-attribute-should-be-indexed" onclick="event.stopPropagation()"></a></h6>
         <p><strong>Test nunjucks raw tags</strong></p>
-        <p></p>
         <div v-pre="">{{ variable interpolation syntax can be used with v-pre }}</div>
         <div v-pre="">{{ nonExistentVariable }}</div>
         <code v-pre="">{{ code elements should automatically be assigned v-pre }}</code>
-        <p></p>
         <hr class="footnotes-sep">
         <section class="footnotes">
           <ol class="footnotes-list">
@@ -700,6 +699,7 @@ <h6 class="always-index" id="level-6-header-outside-headingsearchindex-with-alwa
 
 
 
+
       <nav id="page-nav" class="navbar navbar-light bg-transparent">
         <div class="border-left-grey nav-inner position-sticky slim-scroll">
           <a class="navbar-brand page-nav-title" href="#">Testing Page Navigation</a>
diff --git a/test/functional/test_site_special_tags/_markbind/plugins/testSpecialTag.js b/test/functional/test_site_special_tags/_markbind/plugins/testSpecialTag.js
index 0b08040538..7c51e9bc1a 100644
--- a/test/functional/test_site_special_tags/_markbind/plugins/testSpecialTag.js
+++ b/test/functional/test_site_special_tags/_markbind/plugins/testSpecialTag.js
@@ -1,7 +1,5 @@
 const cheerio = module.parent.require('cheerio');
 
-const ESCAPE_REGEX = new RegExp('{% *raw *%}(.*?){% *endraw *%}', 'gs');
-
 /*
  Simple test plugin that whitelists <testtag> as a special tag.
  If encountered, it wraps the text node inside with some indication text as to
@@ -22,27 +20,8 @@ function preRender(content) {
   return $.html();
 }
 
-/*
-  Tests that special tags like <mustache> which would contain a lot of mustache syntax
-  like {{ }}, we are able to replace them with !success!success success!success!
-  without interference from other dependencies
-*/
-function postRender(content) {
-  const $ = cheerio.load(content, { xmlMode: false });
-  const escapedNunjucks = $('mustache');
-  escapedNunjucks.each((index, element) => {
-    const unwrappedText = $(element).text();
-    const unescapedText = unwrappedText.replace(ESCAPE_REGEX, 'raw$1endraw');
-    const transformedText = unescapedText.replace(/{/g, '!success').replace(/}/g, 'success!');
-    $(element).text(transformedText);
-  });
-
-  return $.html();
-}
-
 
 module.exports = {
   preRender,
-  postRender,
-  getSpecialTags: () => ['testtag', 'testselfclosingtag', 'mustache'],
+  getSpecialTags: () => ['testtag', 'testselfclosingtag'],
 };
diff --git a/test/functional/test_site_special_tags/expected/index.html b/test/functional/test_site_special_tags/expected/index.html
index ff7b5c984d..5b4d088ad7 100644
--- a/test/functional/test_site_special_tags/expected/index.html
+++ b/test/functional/test_site_special_tags/expected/index.html
@@ -44,14 +44,6 @@ <h2 id="so-far-as-to-comply-with-the-commonmark-spec">So far as to comply with t
         <p>There should be text between this and the next <code v-pre="">&lt;hr&gt;</code> tag, since it is a special tag.
           All text should appear in the browser window as a single line,
           save for the comment which the browser still interprets. (but will be in the expected output)</p>
-        <mustache>
-raw
-
-!success!success This should be enclosed in success string success!success!
-
-!success This should also be enclosed in success strings success!success!success!
-endraw
-</mustache>
         <testtag>!success
 
 <these>
@@ -84,6 +76,7 @@ <h2 id="so-far-as-to-comply-with-the-commonmark-spec">So far as to comply with t
             */
           </p>
         </abc>
+        <p></p>
         <hr>
         <p>There are two self closing special tags below, which should display nothing, but are present in the output.
           There is then one special tag with both and opening and closing tag with some text in it (<code v-pre="">lorem ipsum...</code>).
@@ -105,6 +98,7 @@ <h2 id="so-far-as-to-comply-with-the-commonmark-spec">So far as to comply with t
 alert(x);
 }</p>
 <p>success!</testtag>
+          <p></p>
         </div>
         <hr>
       </div>
diff --git a/test/functional/test_site_special_tags/index.md b/test/functional/test_site_special_tags/index.md
index 2bbb3088b2..9a500a16bb 100644
--- a/test/functional/test_site_special_tags/index.md
+++ b/test/functional/test_site_special_tags/index.md
@@ -29,15 +29,6 @@ There should be text between this and the next `<hr>` tag, since it is a special
 All text should appear in the browser window as a single line,
 save for the comment which the browser still interprets. (but will be in the expected output)
 
-<mustache>
-{%raw%}
-
-{{ This should be enclosed in success string }}
-
-{ This should also be enclosed in success strings }}}
-{%endraw%}
-</mustache>
-
 <testtag>
 <these>
 some text
diff --git a/test/unit/Site.test.js b/test/unit/Site.test.js
index 55c19b3f08..c92754285b 100644
--- a/test/unit/Site.test.js
+++ b/test/unit/Site.test.js
@@ -359,6 +359,7 @@ test('Site resolves variables referencing other variables', async () => {
   fs.vol.fromJSON(json, '');
 
   const site = new Site('./', '_site');
+  await site.readSiteConfig();
   await site.collectBaseUrl();
   await site.collectUserDefinedVariablesMap();
 
@@ -367,7 +368,7 @@ test('Site resolves variables referencing other variables', async () => {
   // check all variables
   expect(root.level1).toEqual('variable');
   expect(root.level2).toEqual('variable');
-  const expectedTextSpan = '&lt;span style=&quot;color: blue&quot;&gt;Blue text&lt;/span&gt;';
+  const expectedTextSpan = '<span style="color: blue">Blue text</span>';
   expect(root.level3).toEqual(expectedTextSpan);
   expect(root.level4).toEqual(expectedTextSpan);
 });
@@ -389,6 +390,7 @@ test('Site read correct user defined variables', async () => {
   fs.vol.fromJSON(json, '');
 
   const site = new Site('./', '_site');
+  await site.readSiteConfig();
   await site.collectBaseUrl();
   await site.collectUserDefinedVariablesMap();
 
@@ -398,11 +400,10 @@ test('Site read correct user defined variables', async () => {
   const othersub = site.variablePreprocessor.userDefinedVariablesMap[path.resolve('otherSub/sub')];
 
   // check all baseUrls
-  const baseUrl = '{{baseUrl}}';
-  expect(root.baseUrl).toEqual(baseUrl);
-  expect(sub.baseUrl).toEqual(baseUrl);
-  expect(subsub.baseUrl).toEqual(baseUrl);
-  expect(othersub.baseUrl).toEqual(baseUrl);
+  expect(root.baseUrl).toEqual('');
+  expect(sub.baseUrl).toEqual('/sub');
+  expect(subsub.baseUrl).toEqual('/sub/sub');
+  expect(othersub.baseUrl).toEqual('/otherSub/sub');
 
   // check other variables
   expect(root.variable).toEqual('variable');
diff --git a/test/unit/nunjuckUtils.test.js b/test/unit/nunjuckUtils.test.js
deleted file mode 100644
index e506a44673..0000000000
--- a/test/unit/nunjuckUtils.test.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,29 +0,0 @@
-const njUtil = require('../../src/lib/markbind/src/utils/nunjuckUtils');
-
-test('Escaping nunjucks raw tags', () => {
-  const escapedString = 'This is a content with escaped data {% raw %} CONTENT {% endraw %}';
-  const escapedContent = njUtil.renderRaw(escapedString);
-
-  expect(escapedContent).toBe(escapedString);
-});
-
-test('Escaping nunjucks with new lines', () => {
-  const escapedString = 'This is a content with escaped data\n {% raw %} \nCONTENT\n {% endraw %}';
-  const escapedContent = njUtil.renderRaw(escapedString);
-
-  expect(escapedContent).toBe(escapedString);
-});
-
-test('Escaping multiple nunjucks raw tags', () => {
-  const escapedString = 'Multiple escapes: {% raw %} first {% endraw %} {% raw %} second {% endraw %}';
-  const escapedContent = njUtil.renderRaw(escapedString);
-
-  expect(escapedContent).toBe(escapedString);
-});
-
-test('Escaping nested nunjucks raw tags', () => {
-  const escapedString = 'Multiple escapes: {% raw %} first {% raw %} inside {% endraw %} second {% endraw %}';
-  const escapedContent = njUtil.renderRaw(escapedString);
-
-  expect(escapedContent).toBe(escapedString);
-});
diff --git a/test/unit/parser.test.js b/test/unit/parser.test.js
index dfdf38ca1e..5c320226fa 100644
--- a/test/unit/parser.test.js
+++ b/test/unit/parser.test.js
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ test('includeFile replaces <include> with <div>', async () => {
 
   const expected = [
     '# Index',
-    `<div cwf="${indexPath}" include-path="${includePath}">`
+    `<div cwf="${indexPath}">`
     + `<div data-included-from="${includePath}" cwf="${includePath}">`,
     '',
     '# Include',
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ test('includeFile replaces <include src="exist.md" optional> with <div>', async
 
   const expected = [
     '# Index',
-    `<div cwf="${indexPath}" include-path="${existPath}">`
+    `<div cwf="${indexPath}">`
     + `<div data-included-from="${existPath}" cwf="${existPath}">`,
     '',
     '# Exist',
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ test('includeFile replaces <include src="doesNotExist.md" optional> with empty <
 
   const expected = [
     '# Index',
-    '<div/>',
+    '<div></div>',
     '',
   ].join('\n');
 
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ test('includeFile replaces <include src="include.md#exists"> with <div>', async
 
   const expected = [
     '# Index',
-    `<div cwf="${indexPath}" include-path="${includePath}">`
+    `<div cwf="${indexPath}">`
     + `<div data-included-from="${includePath}" cwf="${includePath}">`,
     '',
     'existing segment',
@@ -202,7 +202,7 @@ test('includeFile replaces <include src="include.md#exists" inline> with inline
 
   const expected = [
     '# Index',
-    `<span cwf="${indexPath}" include-path="${includePath}">`
+    `<span cwf="${indexPath}">`
     + `<span data-included-from="${includePath}" cwf="${includePath}">existing segment</span></span>`,
     '',
   ].join('\n');
@@ -241,7 +241,7 @@ test('includeFile replaces <include src="include.md#exists" trim> with trimmed c
 
   const expected = [
     '# Index',
-    `<div cwf="${indexPath}" include-path="${includePath}">`
+    `<div cwf="${indexPath}">`
     + `<div data-included-from="${includePath}" cwf="${includePath}">`,
     '',
     'existing segment',
@@ -321,7 +321,7 @@ test('includeFile replaces <include src="include.md#exists" optional> with <div>
 
   const expected = [
     '# Index',
-    `<div cwf="${indexPath}" include-path="${includePath}">`
+    `<div cwf="${indexPath}">`
     + `<div data-included-from="${includePath}" cwf="${includePath}">`,
     '',
     'existing segment',
@@ -360,7 +360,7 @@ test('includeFile replaces <include src="include.md#doesNotExist" optional> with
 
   const expected = [
     '# Index',
-    `<div cwf="${indexPath}" include-path="${includePath}">`
+    `<div cwf="${indexPath}">`
     + `<div data-included-from="${includePath}" cwf="${includePath}">`,
     '',
     '',
diff --git a/test/unit/parsers/componentParser.test.js b/test/unit/parsers/componentParser.test.js
index debeba9417..5b41f0b05c 100644
--- a/test/unit/parsers/componentParser.test.js
+++ b/test/unit/parsers/componentParser.test.js
@@ -25,10 +25,7 @@ const parseAndVerifyTemplate = (template, expectedTemplate, postParse = false) =
     expect(result).toEqual(expectedTemplate);
   });
 
-  const htmlParser = new htmlparser.Parser(handler, {
-    xmlMode: true,
-    decodeEntities: false,
-  });
+  const htmlParser = new htmlparser.Parser(handler);
 
   htmlParser.parseComplete(template);
 };