Quickly convert special characters into HTML entities or decode entities back to plain text with our HTML Entity Encoder/Decoder. This tool helps ensure correct character rendering across browsers while enhancing web security by escaping potentially malicious input.
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Tip
Use character entities for symbols like © or ™ to ensure cross-browser consistency.
Did You Know?
The four most common reserved characters in HTML are <, >, &, and ".
HTML entities are strings of characters used to represent reserved characters or symbols that cannot be easily typed. Since characters like '<' and '>' are part of the HTML syntax, they must be encoded as < and > to be displayed as literal text. This encoding is essential for web security (to prevent Cross-Site Scripting) and for maintaining the integrity of the document structure when dealing with special symbols, currency icons, or mathematical operators.
Best Practice
Always encode user-generated content before rendering it on a page to prevent script injection.
Q: Why are my characters turning into code like &? A: This is called HTML encoding. It replaces reserved characters with entities to ensure they are rendered as text rather than interpreted as code.
Q: Does this tool support numeric entities? A: Yes, our decoder can process named entities like ©, decimal codes like ©, and hexadecimal codes like ©.
Q: Is there a limit to how much text I can encode? A: There is no hard limit, though very large documents may perform slower depending on your browser's processing power.
Q: How does this help with XSS? A: By encoding characters like < and >, you prevent a browser from running any script tags that a user might have entered into a form field.