Encode text to HTML entities (&, <, >) or decode HTML entities back to plain text online for free. Essential tool for web developers.
Select "Encode" at tools.arkaserve.com/html-entity, paste your code or text, and the output replaces < with <, > with >, & with &, and " with ". Paste the encoded text into your HTML and it renders as visible text in the browser rather than being interpreted as HTML syntax. Essential for displaying code snippets, XML, or template syntax inside HTML `<pre>` blocks. Completely free.
& (ampersand) → &, < (less-than) → <, > (greater-than) → >, " (double quote) → ", ' (apostrophe) → ' or ', non-breaking space → , © (copyright) → ©, ® (registered) → ®, ™ (trademark) → ™, em dash — → —, en dash – → –. These six core characters (&, <, >, ", ', space) are the ones that cause issues in HTML and need encoding when used in text content or attribute values.
HTML entity encoding is a primary defense against XSS (Cross-Site Scripting) attacks. When user-provided input is displayed on a webpage without encoding, an attacker can inject <script> tags or event handlers. Always encode any user-supplied text before rendering it as HTML content: form inputs, URL parameters, database-stored strings, API responses, and any data from an untrusted source. The browser renders encoded entities as safe visible text, never as executable code.