HTML Entity Encoder / Decoder

Encode and decode HTML entities online. Convert special characters to HTML-safe strings.

How to use: Paste HTML to encode special characters, or decode encoded HTML back to readable markup.

How to Encode and Decode HTML Entities

Paste your text or HTML code into the input area. Click Encode to convert special characters to their entity representations, making them safe to display in web pages. Click Decode to convert entities back to their original characters.

HTML Encoding for Security

HTML entity encoding is a fundamental security practice in web development. Encoding user-generated content before displaying it prevents Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks, where malicious scripts are injected through unescaped HTML characters.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are HTML entities?
HTML entities are special codes that represent characters with reserved meaning in HTML. For example, &lt; represents <, &amp; represents &, and &quot; represents double quotes.
Why do I need to encode HTML entities?
Encoding prevents browsers from interpreting text as HTML markup. This is essential for displaying code snippets, user-generated content, and preventing XSS (Cross-Site Scripting) security vulnerabilities.
Which characters need HTML encoding?
The five essential characters to encode are: < (&lt;), > (&gt;), & (&amp;), " (&quot;), and ' (&#39;). These have special meaning in HTML and must be escaped when displayed as text content.