HTML Encoder/Decoder
Encode special characters to HTML entities or decode them back. Handles &, <, >, ", and all named entities. Free online HTML entity tool.
About this tool
HTML entity encoding converts special characters like <, >, &, ", and ' into their safe HTML entity representations. This prevents browsers from interpreting these characters as HTML markup, which is critical for preventing Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks.
The decoder reverses this process, converting HTML entities back to their original characters. This is useful when extracting readable text from HTML source code or when processing web scraping results. All processing runs entirely in your browser -- no data leaves your device.
infoEntity Reference
shieldWhy Encode?
Encoding user input stops malicious scripts from executing in a browser.
Special characters in content must be encoded to produce valid, well-formed HTML documents.
Encoding ensures characters like angle brackets display as text rather than being parsed as tags.
lightbulbTip
Always encode user-generated content before inserting it into HTML. Server-side encoding is the primary defense against XSS, but client-side encoding adds an extra layer of safety.
Frequently Asked Questions
What characters are encoded?
The encoder converts all special HTML characters including & (→ &), < (→ <), > (→ >), " (→ "), and ' (→ '). This prevents XSS attacks and ensures HTML displays correctly.
Why do I need to encode HTML?
HTML encoding is essential when displaying user-generated content on web pages to prevent Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks. It ensures that special characters are rendered as text, not interpreted as HTML code.
Can it decode named HTML entities?
Yes. The decoder handles both numeric entities (&) and named entities (&, <, >, ", , etc.) and converts them back to their original characters.