HTML Encoder / Decoder
Encode special characters to HTML entities and decode HTML entities back to readable text — instantly, in your browser.
Common HTML Entities
| Character | Named Entity | Numeric Entity | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| < | < | < | Less than |
| > | > | > | Greater than |
| & | & | & | Ampersand |
| " | " | " | Double quote |
| ' | ' | ' | Single quote / apostrophe |
| © | © | © | Copyright sign |
| ® | ® | ® | Registered sign |
| ™ | ™ | ™ | Trade mark sign |
| € | € | € | Euro sign |
| £ | £ | £ | Pound sign |
| ¥ | ¥ | ¥ | Yen sign |
| — | — | — | Em dash |
| – | – | – | En dash |
| |   | Non-breaking space |
About the HTML Encoder / Decoder
The HTML Encoder / Decoder is a free online tool that converts special characters into their HTML entity equivalents and vice versa. When displaying user-generated content, code snippets, or any text that might contain HTML-meaningful characters in a web page, you must encode those characters to prevent them from being interpreted as HTML markup.
For example, the less-than sign < must be written as < in HTML to prevent browsers from treating it as the start of an HTML tag. This tool handles all that automatically.
Why Encode HTML?
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🛡️Security (XSS Prevention)HTML encoding is the primary defense against Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks. Encoding user input prevents malicious scripts from being executed in browsers.
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💻Displaying Code SnippetsWhen showing HTML, CSS, or JavaScript code on a web page, the characters must be encoded so browsers display them as text rather than interpreting them as markup.
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📧Email TemplatesHTML emails require special characters to be encoded for consistent rendering across email clients like Outlook, Gmail, and Apple Mail.
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📄CMS and Database StorageContent management systems often store HTML-encoded text to safely display user-submitted content without rendering arbitrary HTML.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is HTML encoding?
HTML encoding is the process of converting characters that have special meaning in HTML (like <, >, &, and ") into their corresponding HTML entity representations. For example, < becomes < and & becomes &. This ensures the browser displays the character as text rather than interpreting it as HTML markup.
What is the difference between named and numeric entities?
Named entities use a descriptive name (e.g., < for <, & for &), while numeric entities use the Unicode code point in decimal (< for <) or hexadecimal (< for <) format. Named entities are more readable; numeric entities work for any Unicode character even without a named equivalent.
Should I encode all characters in HTML?
You must encode: < (to <), > (to >), and & (to &) in HTML content. Inside attribute values, you should also encode " (to ") or ' (to '). Other characters like accented letters, symbols, and Unicode characters are safe in UTF-8 encoded pages but can optionally be encoded.
Does HTML encoding prevent XSS attacks?
HTML encoding is a crucial defense against reflected and stored XSS attacks when applied to all user-controlled output rendered in HTML context. However, different contexts (HTML attributes, JavaScript, CSS, URLs) require different encoding strategies. Always use context-appropriate encoding as part of a defense-in-depth security approach.
What is the difference between HTML encoding and URL encoding?
HTML encoding converts characters to HTML entities (<, &, etc.) for safe display in HTML documents. URL encoding (percent-encoding) converts characters to %XX format (e.g., space becomes %20) for safe inclusion in URLs and query strings. Both are needed in web development but for different contexts.
Is this tool safe to use with sensitive data?
Yes — this HTML encoder/decoder is 100% client-side. Your text is processed entirely in your browser using JavaScript and is never sent to any server. No data is collected, stored, or transmitted.