HTML Entities Explained with Practical Examples

HTML entities are text codes used to display characters that may otherwise be interpreted as markup. For example, a less-than sign can start an HTML tag unless it is encoded.

Use HTML Encode Text when text must be safely displayed inside HTML. Use HTML Decode Text when you need to turn entities back into readable characters.

Common examples

< displays <, > displays >, and & displays &. These are common when sharing code snippets or user-provided text.

When encoding helps

Encoding helps when text contains symbols that could be mistaken for HTML. It is useful in examples, documentation, snippets and simple templates.

When decoding helps

Decoding helps when copied text contains entities and you need the readable version. If the text also contains Markdown, use a cleanup tool before publishing it.