🏷️ HTML Entity Encoder/Decoder
Convert special characters to HTML entities and back
Common HTML Entities
| Character | Entity Name | Entity Number | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| < | < | < | Less than |
| > | > | > | Greater than |
| & | & | & | Ampersand |
| " | " | " | Double quote |
| ' | ' | ' | Single quote |
| |   | Non-breaking space | |
| © | © | © | Copyright |
| ® | ® | ® | Registered |
| ™ | ™ | ™ | Trademark |
| € | € | € | Euro sign |
Frequently Asked Questions
What are HTML entities and when should I use them?
HTML entities are special codes that represent reserved characters in HTML. Use them when you want to display characters like <, >, &, or quotes as literal text instead of HTML code. For example, < displays as < instead of starting an HTML tag.
What's the difference between named and numbered entities?
Named entities use descriptive names like & for ampersand, < for less-than. Numbered entities use decimal codes like & or hex codes like &. Both produce the same result, but named entities are more readable in source code.
Do I need to encode all special characters?
You must encode &, <, and > to prevent HTML parsing issues. Quotes (" and ') should be encoded in HTML attributes. Other characters like copyright (©) or euro (€) can be entered directly with UTF-8 encoding, but entities ensure compatibility with all systems.
How does the decoder handle complex entities?
The decoder recognizes both named entities (&) and numbered entities (& or &). It uses browser's native HTML parsing to ensure accurate decoding of all standard entities including special symbols, accented characters, and emoji codes.