diff --git a/src/js/simplemde.js b/src/js/simplemde.js
index 5baa6ca..f2b65cb 100644
--- a/src/js/simplemde.js
+++ b/src/js/simplemde.js
@@ -721,6 +721,11 @@ function SimpleMDE(options) {
 	if(options.element) {
 		this.element = options.element;
 	}
+	else if(options.element === null) {
+		// This means that the element option was specified, but no element was found
+		console.log("SimpleMDE: Error. No element was found.");
+		return;
+	}
 
 	if(options.toolbar !== false)
 		options.toolbar = options.toolbar || SimpleMDE.toolbar;