What is HTML Encoding?
HTML encoding (also called HTML escaping) is the process of converting special characters into their HTML entity equivalents. For example, the less-than symbol < becomes <. This is essential for:
- Security - Preventing XSS (Cross-Site Scripting) attacks by neutralizing malicious HTML/JavaScript
- Display - Showing HTML code snippets on web pages without the browser interpreting them
- Compatibility - Ensuring special characters display correctly across different browsers and systems
- Data Integrity - Preserving special characters in forms, databases, and APIs
Types of HTML Entities
HTML entities come in three formats. Each has its own advantages depending on your use case:
Named Entities
Use memorable names like © for © or < for <.
Decimal Entities
Use decimal Unicode code points like © for © or < for <.
Hexadecimal Entities
Use hexadecimal Unicode code points like © for © or < for <.
When to Use HTML Encoding
💻 Displaying Code
Show HTML, XML, or code snippets on web pages (tutorials, documentation, blogs) without the browser executing them.
🔒 Security
Prevent XSS attacks by encoding user-generated content before displaying it on your website or storing it in databases.
📧 Email Templates
Encode special characters in HTML emails to ensure they display correctly across all email clients (Gmail, Outlook, etc.).
🌍 International Content
Handle accented characters, currency symbols, and non-Latin scripts in environments with limited Unicode support.
Understanding Encoding Modes
Our tool offers four encoding modes to fit different use cases:
Safe Mode
Only encodes reserved HTML characters: < > & " '
Use case: Use when you want to preserve most characters while preventing HTML injection
Hello & "World" → Hello & "World"Standard Mode
Encodes reserved characters plus common symbols (©, ®, ™, €, £, ¥)
Use case: Recommended for general use. Balances compatibility with readability
© 2024 & Co. → © 2024 & Co.Unicode Mode
Encodes all non-ASCII characters (emoji, international text, symbols)
Use case: Use for maximum compatibility in ASCII-only environments
Café 😀 → Café 😀Preserve UTF-8
Only encodes reserved chars, preserves all UTF-8 characters as-is
Use case: Use when your target supports UTF-8 and you want to keep text readable
Café & "Test" → Café & "Test"Frequently Asked Questions
< becomes <. This is crucial for security (preventing XSS attacks), displaying code snippets on web pages, and ensuring proper rendering of special characters in HTML documents.© for ©. Decimal entities use numbers like © for the same character. Hexadecimal entities use hex codes like ©. Named entities are easier to read, but not all characters have named entities. Decimal and hex entities work for any Unicode character.< > & " '). Use it when you want to preserve most characters as-is while preventing HTML injection. Standard Mode encodes reserved chars plus common symbols like © ® ™ € for maximum compatibility across different systems and browsers..html, .htm, and .txt files up to 5MB. The tool reads the file content and processes it based on your selected encoding/decoding mode. Perfect for batch processing entire HTML files or text documents containing special characters.