An HTML entities encoder online converts characters like <, >, and & into their safe equivalents (<, >, &) - preventing display glitches, XSS vulnerabilities, and broken markup.
What are HTML Entities?
HTML entities are text representations of characters that have special meaning in HTML. When you write <p> in HTML, the browser treats the angle brackets as tag delimiters. If you want to display a literal < character on a web page, you must write it as < instead.
The most common HTML entities are:
| Character | Entity | Name |
|---|---|---|
| < | < | Less than |
| > | > | Greater than |
| & | & | Ampersand |
| " | " | Double quote |
| ' | ' | Single quote (apostrophe) |
| | | Non-breaking space |
| © | © | Copyright |
| ® | ® | Registered trademark |
How to Use the HTML Entities Tool
- Open the HTML Entities tool on UtilWave.
- Paste your text into the input field.
- Click Encode to convert special characters into HTML entities.
- Click Decode to convert HTML entities back to their original characters.
- Copy the result with one click.
- Everything runs in your browser - no data is sent to servers.
When Do You Need HTML Entities?
Displaying code on a web page - If you have a tutorial showing HTML snippets, you must encode the < and > characters so they render as text instead of being interpreted as tags.
Email templates - HTML emails require encoded special characters for consistent rendering across email clients.
Rich text editors - Content entered by users may contain <, >, or & that need to be encoded before saving to prevent XSS attacks.
XML payloads - XML uses the same special characters as HTML; encoding is required when embedding arbitrary text in XML elements.
CMS content - Many CMS platforms store HTML-encoded content to prevent display issues when the content is later rendered.
HTML Entities vs URL Encoding
HTML entities are for embedding text in HTML documents. URL encoding (percent-encoding) is for embedding data in URLs. They are different systems: < is < in HTML but %3C in a URL. Use the right encoding for the right context.
FAQ
Does encoding protect against XSS? HTML entity encoding is a key defense against reflected XSS when placing user-supplied data inside HTML. However, complete XSS protection requires encoding in the right context (HTML, attributes, JavaScript, CSS) - different contexts require different escaping rules.
What is the difference between named and numeric entities?
< is a named entity; < is the decimal numeric entity; < is the hexadecimal numeric entity. All three produce the same < character. Named entities are more readable; numeric entities work for any Unicode character.
Can I encode an entire HTML document? You can, but it would encode your tags too, making them display as text. Use selective encoding for user content embedded inside HTML structure.
What happens to Unicode characters?
Non-ASCII Unicode characters can be encoded as numeric entities (e.g., 😀 for an emoji). The tool handles full Unicode encoding.
Encode and decode HTML entities instantly with the free HTML Entities tool.