What Is an HTML Entity Encoder?
An HTML entity encoder converts special characters into their HTML entity equivalents. Characters like <, >, &, and " have special meanings in HTML and must be encoded to display correctly in web pages without being interpreted as markup.
How to Use This HTML Entity Encoder
- Enter or paste text containing special characters into the input field.
- Click “Encode” to encode the text.
- Copy the encoded output with all special characters replaced by their entity representations.
Key Concepts
HTML entities begin with & and end with ;. Named entities like & (for &) and < (for <) are human-readable. Numeric entities use decimal (<) or hexadecimal (<) code points. Encoding prevents cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks by ensuring user input is rendered as text rather than executable HTML.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which characters must always be encoded in HTML?
The five mandatory characters are: & (&), < (<), > (>), " ("), and ' ('). These characters have structural meaning in HTML syntax.
What is the difference between encoding and escaping?
In the HTML context, encoding and escaping are essentially the same—both replace special characters with safe representations. The term “encoding” is more common when referring to HTML entities specifically.
Does encoding affect page rendering?
No. Browsers decode HTML entities back to their original characters when rendering the page, so the displayed text looks identical to the original.