HTML Encode
Encode text to HTML entities to safely display special characters in HTML. This tool converts characters like <, >, &, and quotes to their HTML entity equivalents, preventing XSS attacks and ensuring proper HTML rendering.
When to use this tool
You are displaying user-generated content in HTML and want to prevent XSS.
You need to show literal HTML tags in documentation or UI previews.
Examples
Escape HTML tags
Input
<div class="note">Hello</div>
Output
<div class="note">Hello</div>
Encoded output renders as text instead of HTML.
Developer use cases
Escape API error messages before rendering them in HTML.
Render code snippets that contain <script> tags safely.
Common mistakes to avoid
Encoding content multiple times, resulting in double-escaped output.
Using HTML encoding when URL encoding is required.
Format and behavior notes
HTML encoding targets characters like <, >, &, ", and '.
Use URL encoding for query parameters instead.
Related Tools
Frequently Asked Questions
When should I use HTML encoding?
Use HTML encoding when displaying user-generated content in HTML to prevent XSS attacks and ensure special characters render correctly.
What characters get encoded?
Special HTML characters like <, >, &, ", and ' are encoded to their HTML entity equivalents.
Is this the same as URL encoding?
No, HTML encoding converts characters to HTML entities (like <), while URL encoding uses percent encoding (like %3C).