HTML Entity Encoder

Convert special characters to HTML entities for safe display in HTML.

0 characters

What is HTML Entity Encoding?

HTML entity encoding converts special characters into HTML entities (text representations) that browsers can safely display. This prevents characters with special meaning in HTML from being interpreted as code.

Why Do You Need HTML Entity Encoding?

  • Prevent XSS Attacks: Encoding user input prevents cross-site scripting vulnerabilities.
  • Display Code Safely: Show HTML, XML, or code snippets without them being executed.
  • Special Characters: Display characters like <, >, &, and " that have special meaning in HTML.
  • User-Generated Content: Safely display content submitted by users.
  • Email Templates: Ensure special characters in email HTML display correctly.

Common HTML Entity Examples

  • < becomes &lt;
  • > becomes &gt;
  • & becomes &amp;
  • " becomes &quot;
  • ' becomes &#39;

When to Use HTML Entity Encoding

Always encode user input before displaying it on web pages. This is essential for security and preventing XSS attacks. When showing code examples on websites, encode the HTML to prevent the browser from interpreting it as actual HTML elements.

HTML Encoding vs Escaping

HTML encoding and HTML escaping refer to the same process: converting special characters to their entity equivalents. This tool provides a simple way to perform HTML encoding without writing code. If you need to decode HTML entities back to text, use our HTML Entity Decoder tool.

HTML Entity Encoding in Programming Languages

Most languages provide HTML entity encoding to prevent XSS attacks. Here are examples:

PHP

$encoded = htmlspecialchars($data, ENT_QUOTES, 'UTF-8');

JavaScript

// Browser: Use textContent instead of innerHTML
element.textContent = data;

JavaScript (Node.js)

// Node.js with library
const he = require('he');
const encoded = he.encode(data);

Python

import html
encoded = html.escape(data)

Go

import "html"
encoded := html.EscapeString(data)

Java

import org.apache.commons.text.StringEscapeUtils;
String encoded = StringEscapeUtils.escapeHtml4(data);

Ruby

require 'cgi'
encoded = CGI.escapeHTML(data)

C#

using System.Web;
string encoded = HttpUtility.HtmlEncode(data);