DailyTools

HTML Entity Encoder Decoder

Encode and decode HTML entities instantly with our comprehensive HTML entity encoder/decoder tool. Convert special characters to named or numeric HTML entities and vice versa. Perfect for web development, preventing XSS attacks, displaying HTML code safely, and ensuring proper character rendering in web pages.

🚀 Instant Results📱 Mobile Friendly🔒 No Data Stored💯 Completely Free
HTML Entity Encoder / Decoder
Encode text to HTML entities or decode HTML entities back to readable text
27 characters
53 characters196% of original
Quick Reference

Reserved Characters

< → &lt; or &#60;
> → &gt; or &#62;
& → &amp; or &#38;
" → &quot; or &#34;
' → &apos; or &#39;

Common Symbols

© → &copy; or &#169;
® → &reg; or &#174;
™ → &trade; or &#8482;
€ → &euro; or &#8364;
£ → &pound; or &#163;

Tips

  • • Use named entities for readability
  • • Use numeric entities for Unicode characters
  • • Always encode user input to prevent XSS
  • • Decode before processing or storing
  • • Test with various special characters

Complete Guide to HTML Entities

HTML entities are special codes used to represent characters that have special meaning in HTML or cannot be easily typed on a keyboard. They allow you to display characters like angle brackets, quotes, and special symbols in HTML documents without breaking the markup. Our HTML entity encoder/decoder tool helps you convert between human-readable text and HTML entity codes instantly.

What are HTML Entities?

HTML entities are sequences of characters that begin with an ampersand (&) and end with a semicolon (;). They are used to represent characters that are reserved in HTML or are not easily accessible from a keyboard. Entities can be named (using a word or abbreviation) or numeric (using decimal or hexadecimal codes).

Why Use HTML Entities?

  • Reserved Characters: Display HTML reserved characters like <, >, and & in content
  • Special Symbols: Display special symbols and characters not on standard keyboards
  • XSS Prevention: Encode user input to prevent cross-site scripting attacks
  • Character Encoding: Ensure proper character rendering across different browsers and systems
  • International Characters: Display characters from various languages and scripts
  • Mathematical Symbols: Display mathematical and scientific notation

Types of HTML Entities

Named Entities

  • Format: &entityname;
  • Examples: &lt; (<), &gt; (>), &amp; (&), &quot; ("), &nbsp; (non-breaking space)
  • Advantages: Human-readable, easy to remember
  • Limitations: Not all characters have named entities
  • Common Named Entities: &copy; (©), &reg; (®), &trade; (™), &euro; (€)

Numeric Entities (Decimal)

  • Format: &#number;
  • Examples: &#60; (<), &#62; (>), &#169; (©), &#8364; (€)
  • Advantages: Can represent any Unicode character
  • Use Case: Characters without named entities
  • Range: 0 to 1114111 (Unicode range)

Numeric Entities (Hexadecimal)

  • Format: &#xnumber; or &#Xnumber;
  • Examples: &#x3C; (<), &#x3E; (>), &#xA9; (©), &#x20AC; (€)
  • Advantages: More compact for large character codes
  • Use Case: Hexadecimal representation preferred in some contexts
  • Case Insensitive: Both x and X are accepted

Common HTML Entities

Reserved Characters

  • &lt; or &#60;: Less-than sign (<)
  • &gt; or &#62;: Greater-than sign (>)
  • &amp; or &#38;: Ampersand (&)
  • &quot; or &#34;: Double quotation mark (")
  • &apos; or &#39;: Apostrophe (')

Special Characters

  • &nbsp; or &#160;: Non-breaking space
  • &copy; or &#169;: Copyright symbol (©)
  • &reg; or &#174;: Registered trademark (®)
  • &trade; or &#8482;: Trademark symbol (™)
  • &euro; or &#8364;: Euro symbol (€)
  • &pound; or &#163;: Pound symbol (£)
  • &yen; or &#165;: Yen symbol (¥)
  • &cent; or &#162;: Cent symbol (¢)

Mathematical Symbols

  • &times; or &#215;: Multiplication sign (×)
  • &divide; or &#247;: Division sign (÷)
  • &plusmn; or &#177;: Plus-minus sign (±)
  • &infin; or &#8734;: Infinity symbol (∞)
  • &sum; or &#8721;: Summation (∑)
  • &prod; or &#8719;: Product (∏)

Arrows

  • &larr; or &#8592;: Left arrow (←)
  • &rarr; or &#8594;: Right arrow (→)
  • &uarr; or &#8593;: Up arrow (↑)
  • &darr; or &#8595;: Down arrow (↓)
  • &harr; or &#8596;: Left-right arrow (↔)

Common Use Cases

Web Development

  • Displaying HTML Code: Show HTML code examples without rendering them
  • Form Input: Encode user input to prevent XSS attacks
  • Content Management: Store and display content with special characters
  • Email Templates: Ensure proper character rendering in HTML emails
  • Documentation: Display code snippets and technical documentation

Security

  • XSS Prevention: Encode user-generated content to prevent script injection
  • Input Sanitization: Clean user input before displaying
  • Output Encoding: Encode output to prevent injection attacks
  • Content Security: Ensure safe rendering of untrusted content

Content Display

  • Special Characters: Display characters not on standard keyboards
  • International Content: Display characters from various languages
  • Mathematical Content: Display equations and mathematical notation
  • Symbols and Icons: Display special symbols and icons

Encoding vs Decoding

When to Encode

  • User Input: Encode user-provided content before displaying
  • HTML Code Display: Encode HTML code to show it as text
  • Special Characters: Encode characters that might break HTML structure
  • Security: Encode to prevent XSS attacks
  • Email Content: Encode special characters in HTML emails

When to Decode

  • Displaying Content: Decode entities to show actual characters
  • Processing Data: Decode before processing or storing
  • Text Extraction: Decode when extracting plain text from HTML
  • Search Functionality: Decode for search indexing
  • Data Migration: Decode when migrating between systems

Best Practices

Encoding Best Practices

  • Encode Early: Encode data as soon as it's received from users
  • Context Matters: Use appropriate encoding for different HTML contexts (attribute, content, script)
  • Prefer Named Entities: Use named entities when available for readability
  • Consistent Encoding: Use consistent encoding throughout your application
  • Test Edge Cases: Test with various special characters and edge cases

Security Best Practices

  • Always Encode Output: Encode all user-generated content before displaying
  • Context-Specific Encoding: Use appropriate encoding for HTML, JavaScript, CSS, and URL contexts
  • Content Security Policy: Implement CSP headers for additional protection
  • Input Validation: Validate input in addition to encoding
  • Framework Functions: Use framework-provided encoding functions

Common Issues and Solutions

Double Encoding

  • Problem: Encoding already-encoded entities results in double encoding
  • Example: "<" becomes "&lt;" (incorrect)
  • Solution: Check if content is already encoded before encoding
  • Prevention: Track encoding state or decode before re-encoding

Incorrect Context Encoding

  • Problem: Using HTML entity encoding in JavaScript or CSS contexts
  • Solution: Use context-specific encoding (e.g., JavaScript escaping for script tags)
  • Best Practice: Understand different encoding contexts

Character Encoding Issues

  • Problem: Incorrect character encoding causing display issues
  • Solution: Ensure UTF-8 encoding is specified in HTML documents
  • Prevention: Use proper charset meta tags and HTTP headers

HTML Entity Standards

HTML 4.01 Entities

  • Standard: HTML 4.01 defined 252 named character entities
  • Coverage: Latin-1 character set and common symbols
  • Status: Still widely supported

HTML5 Entities

  • Expansion: HTML5 expanded entity support
  • Unicode: Full Unicode character support through numeric entities
  • New Entities: Additional named entities for common symbols

XML Entities

  • Limited Set: XML only supports 5 predefined entities
  • Entities: &lt;, &gt;, &amp;, &quot;, &apos;
  • Custom Entities: XML allows custom entity definitions

Programming Language Support

JavaScript

  • Native Functions: No built-in HTML entity encoding/decoding
  • Libraries: Use libraries like he.js or html-entities
  • DOM Methods: Use textContent for automatic encoding

Python

  • html.escape(): Encodes HTML entities
  • html.unescape(): Decodes HTML entities
  • Library: Built-in html module (Python 3.2+)

PHP

  • htmlspecialchars(): Encodes special HTML characters
  • htmlentities(): Encodes all applicable characters
  • html_entity_decode(): Decodes HTML entities

HTML Entity Encoder Tool Features

  • Bidirectional Conversion: Encode and decode HTML entities instantly
  • Multiple Formats: Support for named, decimal, and hexadecimal entities
  • Real-Time Processing: Instant encoding/decoding as you type
  • Comprehensive Entity Support: Handles all HTML entities including Unicode characters
  • Copy to Clipboard: Easy copying of encoded or decoded text
  • Batch Processing: Encode or decode multiple strings at once
  • Format Options: Choose between named, decimal, or hexadecimal entities
  • Validation: Detects and highlights encoding errors
  • No Data Storage: All processing happens client-side for privacy
  • Mobile Friendly: Works seamlessly on all devices

Related Tools

Our HTML entity encoder/decoder works seamlessly with other developer tools. Try our URL Encoder for encoding URLs, our Base64 Encoder for encoding binary data, or our JSON Formatter for formatting JSON data.