How to Encode and Decode HTML Entities Online
HTML entities are special codes that represent characters which have meaning in HTML syntax or can't be typed easily on a keyboard. Characters like <, >, &, and " must be encoded when used as text content to prevent browser interpretation errors. This guide shows you how to encode and decode HTML entities using fixie.tools — a free tool that instantly converts between plain text and HTML entities.
Step 1: Open the HTML Entity Tool
Navigate to fixie.tools/html-entity in your browser. The tool works entirely in your browser with no server uploads, processing text locally for instant results and privacy.
Step 2: Choose Encode or Decode Mode
Select whether you want to encode plain text to HTML entities or decode HTML entities back to plain text. Encoding converts special characters like < to < and & to & so they display as text instead of being interpreted as HTML. Decoding does the reverse, converting entity codes back to readable characters.
Step 3: Enter Your Text
Paste or type the text you want to convert. For encoding, enter any text containing special characters, quotes, ampersands, or Unicode symbols. For decoding, paste HTML content containing entity codes like ©, , or numeric entities like ©. The tool accepts text of any length and handles both named entities (<) and numeric entities (<).
Step 4: Configure Encoding Options
When encoding, choose which characters to convert. You can encode only special HTML characters (< > & " '), encode all non-ASCII characters (useful for ensuring compatibility), or encode everything including alphanumeric characters. For most uses, encoding only special HTML characters is sufficient. Choose numeric entities (©) or named entities (©) based on your preference — named entities are more readable but not all characters have named versions.
Step 5: Copy the Converted Text
The tool displays the converted result instantly. Click the Copy button to copy the encoded or decoded text to your clipboard. Use encoded entities in HTML content, meta tags, XML files, or anywhere special characters need to display as text. Use decoding to read source code containing entities or convert scraped HTML content to plain text.