HTML Entities Encoder & Decoder

Escape HTML special characters for safe display and prevent XSS vulnerabilities
convert characters to HTML entities and back for secure web development

πŸ›‘οΈ HTML Entity Encoding for Web Security

HTML entity encoding converts special characters to their entity representation (like &lt; for <). Essential for displaying user input safely, preventing XSS attacks and showing HTML code without executing it. Our tool provides instant encoding and decoding of HTML entities with full Unicode character support.

βœ“ Prevent XSS attacks
βœ“ Display HTML code safely
βœ“ Escape user input
βœ“ Show special characters
βœ“ Web form security
βœ“ Database text storage

πŸ”’ HTML Encoder

πŸ”“ HTML Decoder

πŸ§ͺ Example HTML Operations

Click an example to see HTML entity encoding in action

HTML Tags
<div>Hello</div>
Tag escaping
Quotes
Say "Hello"
Quote encoding
Special Characters
a < b & c > d
Multiple entities
Unicode Text
CafΓ© Β© 2024
UTF-8 support

πŸ“š Understanding HTML Entity Encoding

HTML entity encoding converts special characters into a format that can be displayed as text in HTML documents without being interpreted as markup code. This is essential for web security and proper content display.

How HTML Entities Work:

  • Entity Format - Begins with & and ends with ; (e.g., &lt; for <)
  • Named Entities - Use readable names like &lt;, &gt;, &amp;, &quot;
  • Numeric Entities - Use character codes: decimal (<) or hexadecimal (<)
  • Reserved Characters - <, >, &, ", ' must be encoded when displaying as text
  • Case Sensitivity - Named entities are case-sensitive (&lt; not &LT;)

Common HTML Entities:

  • < - &lt; or < (less than, opening tag)
  • > - &gt; or > (greater than, closing tag)
  • & - &amp; or & (ampersand)
  • " - &quot; or " (double quote)
  • ' - &apos; or ' (apostrophe, single quote)
  •   - &nbsp; or   (non-breaking space)
  • Β© - &copy; or © (copyright symbol)

XSS Prevention:

  • Attack Prevention - Encoding prevents script injection by converting <script> to &lt;script&gt;
  • User Input - Always encode user-generated content before displaying on web pages
  • Form Data - Escape form inputs, comments, profile data and any dynamic content
  • Defense Layers - Use encoding as one layer of defense alongside CSP and input validation
  • Context Matters - Use appropriate encoding for HTML content, attributes, JavaScript and URLs

Common Use Cases:

  • Code Examples - Display HTML/XML code snippets in documentation
  • User Comments - Show user comments safely without executing embedded scripts
  • Blog Posts - Display content that may contain HTML-like syntax
  • Database Storage - Store and display text containing special characters
  • Email Display - Show email content safely in web interfaces
  • Search Results - Display search queries containing special characters

Named vs Numeric Entities:

  • Named Entities - More readable (&euro; vs €), limited to ~250 characters
  • Decimal Entities - Universal for all Unicode (€ for €)
  • Hexadecimal Entities - Same as decimal but hex format (€ for €)
  • Browser Support - All modern browsers support both named and numeric entities
  • Best Practice - Use named entities for common characters, numeric for others

Best Practices:

  • Always encode user-generated content before display
  • Use HTML5 with UTF-8 charset for proper Unicode support
  • Encode in the right context (HTML, attributes, JavaScript, URLs)
  • Don't double-encode already encoded content
  • Use templating engines with auto-escaping when possible
  • Validate AND encode - both are necessary for security
  • Test with malicious input to verify XSS protection

⚠️ Privacy Note: All encoding and decoding happens locally in your browser. No HTML content or data is transmitted to servers.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

HTML entities are special codes that represent characters with special meaning in HTML. They begin with ampersand and end with semicolon. For example, < represents less-than sign, > represents greater-than sign and & represents ampersand. HTML entities allow you to display these reserved characters as text instead of having them interpreted as HTML code.

Use HTML entity encoding when: displaying user-generated content on web pages, preventing XSS (Cross-Site Scripting) attacks, showing HTML/XML code examples without execution, escaping special characters in form inputs, storing text in databases that will be displayed as HTML, creating secure web applications and displaying reserved HTML characters.

HTML encoding prevents XSS by converting potentially dangerous characters into their entity representations. For example, if a user inputs malicious code like script tags, encoding converts the angle brackets to < and > entities, which displays as text instead of executing. This prevents code injection while safely displaying user input.

Named entities use readable names like < for less-than, > for greater-than and & for ampersand. Numeric entities use character codes in decimal or hexadecimal format. Named entities are more readable but only exist for common characters. Numeric entities work for any Unicode character, making them more versatile for international characters.

Yes! Our HTML encoder fully supports Unicode characters. Characters beyond basic ASCII (like Γ©, Γ±, δΈ­, emoji) can be displayed directly in modern HTML5 with UTF-8 encoding or converted to numeric entities using their character codes. The tool handles all Unicode characters correctly for safe display in web pages.

Absolutely! All HTML entity encoding and decoding happens locally in your browser using JavaScript. No data is ever transmitted to our servers or any third party. You can use this tool completely offline. Your HTML content and user input never leave your device, ensuring complete privacy.