diff --git a/src/Page.js b/src/Page.js
index a8275e5b09..c5a90dc14e 100644
--- a/src/Page.js
+++ b/src/Page.js
@@ -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;
 
@@ -594,7 +593,7 @@ class Page {
       // Insert content
       .then(result => njUtil.renderRaw(result, {
         [LAYOUT_PAGE_BODY_VARIABLE]: pageData,
-      }, {}, false));
+      }));
   }
 
 
@@ -708,7 +707,7 @@ class Page {
 
     // 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');
@@ -850,7 +849,7 @@ class Page {
     }
   }
 
-  collectHeadFiles(baseUrl, hostBaseUrl) {
+  collectHeadFiles() {
     const { head } = this.frontMatter;
     if (head === FRONT_MATTER_NONE_ATTR) {
       this.headFileTopContent = '';
@@ -880,16 +879,11 @@ class Page {
       // Split top and bottom contents
       const $ = cheerio.load(headFileMappedData, { xmlMode: false });
       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($.html().trim().replace(/\n\s*\n/g, '\n').replace(/\n/g, '\n    '));
     });
     this.headFileTopContent = collectedTopContent.join('\n    ');
     this.headFileBottomContent = collectedBottomContent.join('\n    ');
@@ -950,6 +944,7 @@ class Page {
      */
     const fileConfig = {
       baseUrlMap: this.baseUrlMap,
+      baseUrl: this.baseUrl,
       rootPath: this.rootPath,
       headerIdMap: this.headerIdMap,
       fixedHeader: this.fixedHeader,
@@ -969,27 +964,16 @@ class Page {
       .then(result => this.insertHeaderFile(result, fileConfig))
       .then(result => this.insertFooterFile(result))
       .then(result => Page.insertTemporaryStyles(result))
-      .then(result => markbinder.resolveBaseUrl(result, fileConfig))
       .then(result => markbinder.render(result, this.sourcePath, fileConfig))
       .then(result => this.postRender(result))
       .then(result => this.collectPluginsAssets(result))
-      .then(result => markbinder.processDynamicResources(this.sourcePath, result))
+      .then(result => MarkBind.processDynamicResources(this.sourcePath, result, fileConfig))
       .then(result => MarkBind.unwrapIncludeSrc(result))
       .then((result) => {
-        this.content = result;
-
-        const { relative } = urlUtils.getParentSiteAbsoluteAndRelativePaths(this.sourcePath, this.rootPath,
-                                                                            this.baseUrlMap);
-        const baseUrl = relative ? `${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();
@@ -1077,7 +1061,7 @@ 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;
             }
@@ -1109,7 +1093,7 @@ 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;
                 }
@@ -1233,7 +1217,7 @@ 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');
   }
@@ -1260,41 +1244,30 @@ 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 c39a87dcf2..ee396a6fe6 100644
--- a/src/Site.js
+++ b/src/Site.js
@@ -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..d1a22391ca 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 +16,10 @@ _.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 +40,16 @@ 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, { xmlMode: false });
 
-    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 +58,7 @@ 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 +72,7 @@ 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 +83,7 @@ class Parser {
   }
 
   static unwrapIncludeSrc(html) {
-    const $ = cheerio.load(html, {
-      xmlMode: false,
-      decodeEntities: false,
-    });
+    const $ = cheerio.load(html, { xmlMode: false });
     $('div[data-included-from], span[data-included-from]').each(function () {
       $(this).replaceWith($(this).contents());
     });
@@ -149,22 +134,6 @@ class Parser {
       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 +199,7 @@ class Parser {
         });
         resolve(cheerio.html(nodes));
       });
-      const parser = new htmlparser.Parser(handler, {
-        xmlMode: true,
-        decodeEntities: true,
-      });
+      const parser = new htmlparser.Parser(handler, { xmlMode: true });
 
       const renderedContent = this.variablePreprocessor.renderPage(file, content, additionalVariables);
 
@@ -276,10 +242,7 @@ class Parser {
         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, { xmlMode: true });
       const fileExt = utils.getExt(filePath);
       if (utils.isMarkdownFileExt(fileExt)) {
         const renderedContent = md.render(content);
@@ -293,78 +256,6 @@ 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..046e91828d 100644
--- a/src/lib/markbind/src/parsers/componentParser.js
+++ b/src/lib/markbind/src/parsers/componentParser.js
@@ -6,6 +6,10 @@ _.has = require('lodash/has');
 const md = require('../lib/markdown-it');
 const logger = require('../../../../util/logger');
 
+const {
+  ATTRIB_CWF,
+} = require('../constants');
+
 cheerio.prototype.options.xmlMode = true; // Enable xml mode for self-closing tag
 cheerio.prototype.options.decodeEntities = false; // Don't escape HTML entities
 
@@ -483,6 +487,10 @@ function postParseComponents(node) {
   } catch (error) {
     logger.error(error);
   }
+
+  if (node.attribs) {
+    delete node.attribs[ATTRIB_CWF];
+  }
 }
 
 
diff --git a/src/lib/markbind/src/preprocessors/componentPreprocessor.js b/src/lib/markbind/src/preprocessors/componentPreprocessor.js
index a4b7a749fc..2a6099830c 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 +80,17 @@ 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)) {
+      // {{ baseUrl }} (or simply '/...' if baseUrl === '') was used in this src attribute,
+      // get the relative path from the rootPath followed by its absolute path
+      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 +120,14 @@ 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 +135,27 @@ 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 resultPath = utils.setExtension(path.relative(config.rootPath, filePath), '._include_.html');
+  const baseUrlPrependedPath = path.posix.join(`${config.baseUrl}/`, utils.ensurePosix(resultPath));
+  node.attribs.src = fragment ? `${baseUrlPrependedPath}#${fragment}` : baseUrlPrependedPath;
+
+  delete node.attribs.boilerplate;
 
   parser.dynamicIncludeSrc.push({ from: context.cwf, to: actualFilePath, asIfTo: filePath });
 
-  return element;
+  return node;
 }
 
 
@@ -231,7 +231,6 @@ 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/test/functional/test_site/expected/index.html b/test/functional/test_site/expected/index.html
index a73f3f905e..ab916f31fe 100644
--- a/test/functional/test_site/expected/index.html
+++ b/test/functional/test_site/expected/index.html
@@ -668,11 +668,9 @@ <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">
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 9d871f89f3..ef3052fee0 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>
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 a41f4a4fa6..0a6cebd8c5 100644
--- a/test/unit/Site.test.js
+++ b/test/unit/Site.test.js
@@ -358,6 +358,7 @@ 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();
 
@@ -366,7 +367,7 @@ 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);
 });
@@ -388,6 +389,7 @@ 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();
 
@@ -397,11 +399,10 @@ 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..26d126bd7b 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',
@@ -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..fa5767445d 100644
--- a/test/unit/parsers/componentParser.test.js
+++ b/test/unit/parsers/componentParser.test.js
@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@ const parseAndVerifyTemplate = (template, expectedTemplate, postParse = false) =
 
   const htmlParser = new htmlparser.Parser(handler, {
     xmlMode: true,
-    decodeEntities: false,
   });
 
   htmlParser.parseComplete(template);