HTML Entity Encoder / Decoder

Encode or decode HTML entities to display special characters safely.

I want to:

What are HTML entities?

HTML entities are small code snippets used in web development to represent characters that either have a special role in HTML or can't be typed directly on a keyboard. These codes always begins with an ampersand (&) and end with a semicolon (;).

For example, the entity < shows a less-than sign (<), and & represents an ampersand (&). Without encoding, your browser might confuse them for HTML code rather than content.

These special encodings are known as HTML entities, and they help keep your markup clean and readable.

Why use HTML entities?

HTML entities are really useful when it comes to both safety and compatibilty in websites. Some main reasons to use them:

  • Displaying special characters: Show things like quotes, ampersands, and brackets properly.
  • Preventing code injection: Escape user input to stop malicious scripts from running.
  • Cross-browser compatibility: Keep characters consistent across different browsers.
  • Avoiding syntax issues: Stop special characters from interfering with your HTML layout.

Whether you're writing blogs, emails or code, using entities helps your content display smoothly and securely.

How to use the Entity Encoder/Decoder

This online converter is made for developers, writers, and anyone working with HTML source. Just pop your text into the box and you'll see the result right away.

You can:

  • Encode: Turn characters like < and & into safe HTML entities.
  • Decode: Translate entities back into readable symbols for normal viewing.

It works with named entities like &nbsp; and numeric ones like  . Fast, easy and super useful when writing HTML by hand.