Example 1
Input: 5 < 10 & 10 > 5
Output: 5 < 10 & 10 > 5
HTML Entity Encoder
Convert special characters, symbols, and HTML markup into safe HTML entities instantly with accurate client-side encoding.
Conversion Mode
Enter text or HTML containing special characters to convert them into HTML entities.
Characters
0
UTF-8 Bytes
0
Input Length
0
Your encoded result will appear here as plain text.
Output Characters
0
Output Bytes
0
Entities Created
0
HTML Entity Information
HTML entities provide a text representation for characters that have special meaning in HTML or are useful to represent explicitly.
Encoding
HTML Entities
Input Characters
0
Output Characters
0
Entities Created
0
Special Characters
0
Important: HTML entity encoding is context-specific. It is not a replacement for HTML sanitization or a complete security policy when handling untrusted content.
Common HTML Entities
Here are some frequently used HTML character entities.
| Character | Entity | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| & | & | Ampersand |
| < | < | Less-than sign |
| > | > | Greater-than sign |
| " | " | Double quotation mark |
| ' | ' | Apostrophe |
| © | © | Copyright symbol |
| ® | ® | Registered trademark |
| ™ | ™ | Trademark symbol |
| € | € | Euro sign |
| £ | £ | Pound sign |
| ¥ | ¥ | Yen sign |
| Non-breaking space | | Non-breaking space |
HTML Entity Encoding Examples
These examples show how common HTML characters can be represented as entities.
Example 2
Input: <p class="demo">Hello</p>
Output: <p class="demo">Hello</p>
Example 3
Input: Tom & Jerry
Output: Tom & Jerry
What Is HTML Entity Encoding?
HTML entity encoding is a way of representing certain characters using special sequences that HTML understands. It is especially useful for characters that could otherwise be interpreted as part of HTML markup.
Common examples
< represents <, > represents >, and & represents &. Quotes can also be represented with entities such as " and '.
Why Are HTML Entities Used?
- To represent reserved HTML characters.
- To display special symbols in appropriate HTML contexts.
- To make certain characters explicit within markup.
- To represent selected Unicode characters using numeric references.
- For developer testing, documentation, and content formatting.
- To support older HTML authoring patterns where character references are useful.
How Does HTML Entity Encoding Work?
An HTML entity encoder examines the input and replaces characters that need HTML character references with their corresponding entity representation. For example, an ampersand can become &, while a less-than sign can become <.
When Should You Use HTML Entities?
Use HTML entities when you need to represent reserved characters or specific character references in HTML text. The correct encoding method always depends on the context in which the data will be used.
HTML Entity Encoding vs HTML Sanitization
Encoding and sanitization solve different problems. Encoding changes the representation of characters for a particular context. Sanitization applies rules to remove or restrict unwanted markup. Encoding alone should not be presented as a complete defense for arbitrary untrusted HTML.
HTML Entity Encoding vs URL Encoding
HTML entity encoding is intended for representing characters in HTML contexts. URL encoding, also called percent-encoding, is designed for representing data within URLs and URI components.
For example, an HTML less-than sign can be represented as
<, while URL encoding uses percent-encoding such as %3C. They are different techniques and should not be substituted for one another without considering the target context.How to Encode HTML Entities
- Enter your text or HTML in the input box.
- Click Encode HTML Entities.
- Review the generated entity-encoded result.
- Use Copy or Download Result when needed.
How to Decode HTML Entities
- Switch to Decode mode.
- Paste an HTML entity string into the input box.
- Click Decode HTML Entities.
- Review the decoded text.
- Copy the result if required.
HTML Entity Best Practices
- Choose the encoding method based on the output context.
- Do not treat HTML encoding as a substitute for sanitization.
- Keep untrusted HTML as text unless your application has a carefully designed rendering and sanitization process.
- Be consistent when processing content that may contain existing entities.
- Use UTF-8 for modern multilingual content whenever possible.
Frequently Asked Questions
An HTML entity is a character reference used to represent certain characters in HTML, such as < for a less-than sign.
An HTML entity encoder converts characters with special meaning in HTML into corresponding character references.
Common characters that may need representation include the ampersand, less-than sign, greater-than sign, quotation marks, and apostrophes, depending on the HTML context.
& is the HTML entity representation of the ampersand character (&).
< represents the less-than sign (<).
> represents the greater-than sign (>).
" represents a double quotation mark (").
' is a numeric HTML character reference for an apostrophe or single quotation mark.
Yes. Numeric character references can represent many Unicode code points, and modern HTML documents can also contain Unicode directly when using an appropriate character encoding such as UTF-8.
HTML encoding uses character references for HTML contexts. URL encoding uses percent-encoding for data placed in URLs or URI components. They serve different purposes.
No. Encoding changes how characters are represented. Sanitization applies rules to remove or restrict unwanted markup. They should not be treated as interchangeable security techniques.
Yes. For example, <p>Hello</p> can be converted so the angle brackets and other required characters are represented as entities.
No. User input is handled as text, and decoded content is placed into a textarea rather than being rendered as webpage HTML.
No server-side storage is used by this tool. Processing takes place directly in your browser.
Yes. The tool is designed to provide client-side HTML entity encoding and decoding without requiring an account or external API.
Yes. The interface is responsive and designed for desktop, tablet, mobile, and small mobile screens.
Privacy
Your text is processed directly in your browser. This tool does not upload your input to our server and does not use an external API for conversion.
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