HTML Entity Encoder / Decoder

Convert special characters to HTML entities and vice versa. Escape HTML for safe display in web pages.

Input

Plain Text

Mode

Encoding Type

Named Entities

Use named entities like & < > when available

Numeric Entities

Use numeric entities like & < >

Hexadecimal Entities

Use hex entities like & < >

Encode All Characters

Convert all characters to entities, not just special ones

Text to Encode

Output

HTML Entities

Quick Examples

Common Use Cases

HTML Tags

<div class="container">Hello World!</div>

JavaScript Code

if (x < 10 && y > 5) { alert("Success!"); }

Special Symbols

Math Expression

5 × 3 = 15, 20 ÷ 4 = 5, π ≈ 3.14

Quotes & Apostrophes

She said, "It's a beautiful day!"

International Text

Café • Résumé • Naïve • Piñata

Arrows & Symbols

← Previous | Next → ↑ Top ↓ Bottom

Currency Symbols

Price: $100 = €85 = £75 = ¥11,000

Multiple Formats

Support for named, decimal, and hexadecimal entity formats

XSS Prevention

Escape HTML to prevent cross-site scripting attacks

Entity Reference

Comprehensive searchable reference of common HTML entities

Real-time Conversion

Instant encoding and decoding as you type

Frequently Asked Questions

What are HTML entities?

HTML entities are special codes that represent characters in HTML. They start with an ampersand (&) and end with a semicolon (;). They're used to display characters that have special meaning in HTML or that might not be available on all keyboards.

When should I use HTML entities?

Use HTML entities when: displaying HTML code on a webpage, including special characters that might be misinterpreted by browsers, ensuring compatibility across different character encodings, preventing XSS attacks by escaping user input, or including symbols not readily available on keyboards.

What's the difference between named and numeric entities?

Named entities use descriptive names (like © for ©) and are easier to read and remember. Numeric entities use the character's Unicode number (like © for ©) and have better browser support. Hexadecimal entities are similar to numeric but use hex notation (like © for ©).

Do I need to encode all special characters?

No, you only need to encode characters that have special meaning in HTML (<, >, &, ", ') and characters that might not display correctly due to encoding issues. With UTF-8 encoding, most Unicode characters can be used directly without entities.