HTML Encoder & Decoder
Free online tool to encode special characters to HTML entities or decode HTML entities back to text. Essential for web developers to ensure code safety and correct display.
Input Text
Encoded Output
How to Use This Tool
- Enter values: Paste or type your text or HTML code into the input box.
- Click calculate: Click the "Encode HTML" or "Decode HTML" button (depending on the selected mode) to process your text.
- Read results: The processed text will appear in the output box. You can then copy it to your clipboard.
Understanding Your Results
HTML entities are used to display reserved characters (which would otherwise be interpreted as HTML code) and invisible characters (like non-breaking spaces). You can also use them to display other characters that are difficult to type with a standard keyboard.
For example, if you want to display the less-than sign (<) on your webpage, you must write it as <. If you write < directly, the browser might interpret it as the start of an HTML tag.
Common Use Cases
- Displaying Code Snippets: When writing a tutorial or documentation, you often need to show HTML code examples. Encoding the HTML tags ensures they are displayed as text rather than rendered by the browser.
- Preventing XSS: Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) is a security vulnerability where attackers inject malicious scripts into web pages. Encoding user input converts special characters into safe HTML entities, preventing the browser from executing them as code.
- Data Storage: When storing text in a database that might contain special characters, encoding can prevent issues with data retrieval and display.
- Email Templates: HTML emails can be tricky. Encoding special characters ensures your email renders correctly across different email clients.
Tips and Best Practices
- Encode everything: When handling user input, it's safer to encode everything by default to prevent security issues.
- Check your charset: Ensure your webpage is using the UTF-8 character set to support a wide range of characters.
- Don't double encode: Be careful not to encode text that has already been encoded, as this will result in double-encoded entities (e.g.,
&lt;instead of<).
Frequently Asked Questions
HTML encoding is the process of converting characters that have special meaning in HTML (like
<, >, &, ") into their corresponding HTML entities (like <, >, &, "). This ensures the browser displays them as text rather than interpreting them as code.
You need to encode HTML to display special characters correctly on a webpage and to prevent security vulnerabilities like Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), where malicious scripts could be injected into your page.
Encoding converts special characters into HTML entities (e.g., '
<' becomes '<'). Decoding does the reverse, converting HTML entities back into their original characters (e.g., '<' becomes '<').
Yes, this tool processes all data locally in your browser using JavaScript. Your text and code are never sent to any server, ensuring complete privacy and security.