HTML Entity Encoder / Decoder
Encode special characters to HTML entities or decode them back
| Character | Entity (Named) | Entity (Numeric) | Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| & | & | & | Ampersand |
| < | < | < | Less Than |
| > | > | > | Greater Than |
| " | " | " | Double Quote |
| ' | ' | ' | Apostrophe |
| ␣ | |   | Non-breaking Space |
| © | © | © | Copyright |
| ® | ® | ® | Registered |
| ™ | ™ | ™ | Trademark |
| € | € | € | Euro |
| £ | £ | £ | Pound |
| ¥ | ¥ | ¥ | Yen |
| « | « | « | Left Guillemet |
| » | » | » | Right Guillemet |
| — | — | — | Em Dash |
| – | – | – | En Dash |
| … | … | … | Ellipsis |
| · | · | · | Middle Dot |
| • | • | • | Bullet |
| × | × | × | Multiplication |
| ÷ | ÷ | ÷ | Division |
Suggested Next Steps
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How to Use
Paste or Type Input
Enter your text, code, or data into the input area.
Choose Options
Select the transformation or format you want to apply.
Copy the Result
Copy the output to your clipboard with one click.
Why Use This Tool
100% Free
No hidden costs, no premium tiers — every feature is free.
No Installation
Runs entirely in your browser. No software to download or install.
Private & Secure
Your data never leaves your device. Nothing is uploaded to any server.
Works on Mobile
Fully responsive — use on your phone, tablet, or desktop.
HTML Entity Encoding for Secure Web Content
Key Takeaways
- HTML entity encoding converts special characters like <, >, and & into safe representations that browsers render as text, not code.
- Proper entity encoding is a primary defense against Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks in web applications.
- All encoding and decoding is processed in your browser — your content never leaves your device.
HTML entity encoding is a fundamental web security practice that converts characters with special meaning in HTML into their entity equivalents. Without proper encoding, user-supplied content containing characters like < or > could be interpreted as HTML tags, leading to broken layouts or dangerous XSS vulnerabilities. Every web developer should understand when and how to apply entity encoding.
Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) remains in the OWASP Top 10 — proper output encoding prevents the majority of XSS attacks.
Security Importance
Key Concepts
Named vs. Numeric Entities
Named entities like & and < are human-readable, while numeric entities like & and < (or hex &) work for any Unicode character. Named entities cover only a subset of characters.
The Five Critical Characters
The characters < > & " ' must always be encoded in HTML content: < > & " '. These five characters form the minimum encoding set for XSS prevention.
Context-Specific Encoding
Different HTML contexts (element content, attributes, JavaScript, CSS, URLs) require different encoding strategies. Entity encoding alone is not sufficient for JavaScript or URL contexts.
Unicode Special Characters
HTML entities give access to thousands of special characters — from mathematical symbols to currency signs to arrows — without needing special fonts.
Pro Tips
Always encode output, never input — store raw data in your database and encode when rendering to HTML.
Use your framework's built-in escaping (React JSX, Angular templates, Vue {{ }}) rather than manual entity encoding.
Remember to encode inside HTML attributes too — an unencoded quote in an attribute value can break out of the attribute context.
For content that should contain real HTML (like a rich text editor), use a sanitization library like DOMPurify instead of entity encoding.
All HTML entity encoding and decoding is performed entirely in your browser. Your content is never transmitted to any external server, ensuring privacy for sensitive HTML content.