diff --git a/markitect/document_manager.py b/markitect/document_manager.py
index 4dd5d795..c22031df 100644
--- a/markitect/document_manager.py
+++ b/markitect/document_manager.py
@@ -447,9 +447,12 @@ class DocumentManager:
                 const header = document.createElement('div');
                 header.className = 'markitect-floating-header';
                 header.innerHTML = `
-                    <button onclick="markitectEditor.save()">Save</button>
-                    <button onclick="markitectEditor.togglePreview()">Toggle Preview</button>
-                    <span id="save-status">Ready</span>
+                    <button onclick="markitectEditor.save()" title="Download edited file with timestamp">💾 Save & Download</button>
+                    <button onclick="markitectEditor.togglePreview()" title="Toggle preview mode">👁️ Preview</button>
+                    <span id="save-status" style="margin-left: 15px; font-size: 0.9em;">Ready</span>
+                    <span style="margin-left: 15px; font-size: 0.8em; color: #666;">
+                        Saves as: filename-edited-YYYY-MM-DD-HH-MM-SS.md
+                    </span>
                 `;
                 document.body.insertBefore(header, document.body.firstChild);
 
@@ -520,10 +523,88 @@ class DocumentManager:
             }
 
             save() {
-                document.getElementById('save-status').textContent = 'Saved!';
-                setTimeout(() => {
-                    document.getElementById('save-status').textContent = 'Ready';
-                }, 2000);
+                try {
+                    // Get the current markdown content from the editor
+                    const markdownContent = this.getMarkdownContent();
+
+                    // Create filename with timestamp suffix for backup convention
+                    const now = new Date();
+                    const timestamp = now.toISOString().slice(0, 19).replace(/:/g, '-').replace('T', '-');
+                    const originalFilename = window.location.pathname.split('/').pop().replace('.html', '.md');
+                    const backupFilename = `${originalFilename.replace('.md', '')}-edited-${timestamp}.md`;
+
+                    // Create and download the file
+                    const blob = new Blob([markdownContent], { type: 'text/markdown' });
+                    const url = URL.createObjectURL(blob);
+                    const a = document.createElement('a');
+                    a.href = url;
+                    a.download = backupFilename;
+                    document.body.appendChild(a);
+                    a.click();
+                    document.body.removeChild(a);
+                    URL.revokeObjectURL(url);
+
+                    // Update status with filename convention info
+                    const statusEl = document.getElementById('save-status');
+                    statusEl.textContent = `Downloaded: ${backupFilename}`;
+                    statusEl.title = 'File saved with timestamp to avoid overwriting original';
+                    setTimeout(() => {
+                        statusEl.textContent = 'Ready';
+                        statusEl.title = '';
+                    }, 5000);
+
+                } catch (error) {
+                    document.getElementById('save-status').textContent = 'Save failed!';
+                    console.error('Save error:', error);
+                    setTimeout(() => {
+                        document.getElementById('save-status').textContent = 'Ready';
+                    }, 3000);
+                }
+            }
+
+            getMarkdownContent() {
+                // Reconstruct markdown content from the current state of sections
+                const content = document.getElementById('markdown-content');
+                if (!content) {
+                    return markdownContent; // fallback to original
+                }
+
+                // Simple approach: get the text content and convert back to markdown
+                // This is a basic implementation - could be enhanced for better preservation
+                const sections = content.querySelectorAll('.markitect-section-editable');
+                let reconstructed = '';
+
+                sections.forEach(section => {
+                    const tagName = section.tagName.toLowerCase();
+                    const text = section.textContent.trim();
+
+                    if (tagName.startsWith('h')) {
+                        const level = parseInt(tagName.charAt(1));
+                        reconstructed += '#'.repeat(level) + ' ' + text + '\n\n';
+                    } else if (tagName === 'p') {
+                        reconstructed += text + '\n\n';
+                    } else if (tagName === 'blockquote') {
+                        reconstructed += '> ' + text + '\n\n';
+                    } else if (tagName === 'pre') {
+                        reconstructed += '```\n' + text + '\n```\n\n';
+                    } else if (tagName === 'ul') {
+                        const items = section.querySelectorAll('li');
+                        items.forEach(item => {
+                            reconstructed += '- ' + item.textContent.trim() + '\n';
+                        });
+                        reconstructed += '\n';
+                    } else if (tagName === 'ol') {
+                        const items = section.querySelectorAll('li');
+                        items.forEach((item, index) => {
+                            reconstructed += `${index + 1}. ` + item.textContent.trim() + '\n';
+                        });
+                        reconstructed += '\n';
+                    } else {
+                        reconstructed += text + '\n\n';
+                    }
+                });
+
+                return reconstructed.trim();
             }
 
             togglePreview() {