HTML entity converter

Free HTML Entity Converter Tool

The HTML Entity Converter quickly encodes or decodes special characters to valid HTML entities. It prevents broken markup and ensures symbols display correctly across browsers, CMSs, and email clients. Use it when embedding user text into HTML, preparing templates, or fixing double-encoded content.

What is HTML Entity Converter?

The HTML Entity Converter is a utility that transforms special characters (&, <, >, quotes, emoji, and non-ASCII characters) into their safe HTML entity equivalents, and vice versa. Encoding protects your markup from breaking, while decoding restores human-readable text from entity-heavy source.

On Monkey Type, this tool helps developers, content editors, and marketers reliably convert text when publishing to websites, CMS editors, email templates, or RSS/XML feeds. It supports both named entities (like &amp;) and numeric entities (like &), giving you precise control over how your content renders.

If you often prepare text for web use, the HTML Entity Converter saves time and prevents errors. For complementary tasks, you can also use the URL Encoder/Decoder for query strings and the JSON Formatter to safely embed text in JSON payloads.

Why Use HTML Entity Converter?

• Prevent broken HTML: Characters like & and < can break markup if not escaped. Encoding them with the HTML Entity Converter keeps your pages valid and accessible.
• Publish safely in CMS and WYSIWYG editors: Many editors alter unescaped characters. Convert text beforehand to preserve formatting and punctuation across platforms.
• Email and newsletter compatibility: Different email clients render characters inconsistently. Encoding ensures consistent display in HTML emails and templates.
• Fix double-encoded content: If you see text like &amp; showing on the page, the HTML Entity Converter can decode it back to & cleanly.
• Control over named vs numeric entities: Choose the style that best suits your environment, XML feeds, or legacy systems.

For production-ready markup, pair this with the HTML Minifier to compress output and the Base64 Encoder/Decoder when embedding assets inline.

How to Use HTML Entity Converter on Monkey Type

1. Open the tool: Visit the HTML Entity Converter on Monkey Type.
2. Choose direction: Select Encode (convert characters to entities) or Decode (convert entities back to characters).
3. Paste or type your text: Add the HTML, snippets, or plain text you want to process.
4. Adjust options: Pick named or numeric entities, include/exclude quotes, and decide whether to convert non-ASCII characters and emoji.
5. Convert instantly: Click Convert. The result appears immediately in the output pane.
6. Copy or download: Copy the result to your clipboard, or save it for use in your CMS, code, or emails.
7. Verify if needed: If you’re embedding in JSON or URLs afterward, validate with the JSON Formatter or the URL Encoder/Decoder.

Result: You get correctly encoded or decoded text ready for safe insertion into HTML pages, templates, or feeds—without broken tags or garbled symbols.

Key Features

• Two-way conversion: Encode to HTML entities or decode entities to plain text with one click.
• Named or numeric entities: Choose the format preferred by your pipeline or standards.
• Selective character handling: Toggle conversion for quotes, non-ASCII characters, and emoji.
• Instant preview: See the output as you convert to catch issues early.
• Safe for attributes and text nodes: Prevent attribute-breaking characters from slipping through.
• Handles large inputs: Convert full templates, emails, or content blocks efficiently.
• Works alongside other tools: Use with the HTML Minifier for optimized markup or the Regex Tester for advanced QA checks.

Best Practices & Tips

• Encode at output: Encode characters when inserting text into HTML, not at input, to avoid double-encoding.
• Avoid double-encoding: If your framework already escapes output, use Decode to fix over-escaped content rather than re-encoding.
• Choose entity style wisely: Named entities are readable; numeric entities may be better for strict XML. Pick one consistently.
• Test email rendering: For newsletters, encode special symbols and test in multiple clients. Then minify with the HTML Minifier if needed.
• Validate complex data: If embedding inside JSON or URLs, validate with the JSON Formatter and the URL Encoder/Decoder after converting.
• Use regex for audits: Detect stray entities or mixed encoding styles with the Regex Tester.

Common Use Cases

• CMS publishing: Convert curly quotes, ampersands, and symbols before pasting into WYSIWYG editors to prevent broken pages.
• Template development: Safely embed dynamic text into HTML attributes and text nodes without corrupting markup.
• Email campaigns: Encode special characters for reliable rendering across Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail.
• RSS/XML feeds: Use numeric entities for strict XML pipelines and content syndication.
• Fixing legacy content: Decode over-escaped text (e.g., &amp;quot;) to restore readable copy.
• Markdown to HTML workflows: After conversion, entity-encode edge characters as needed and then verify structure with the Markdown to HTML Converter.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an HTML entity and why is it needed?

An HTML entity is a safe representation of a character that might otherwise be interpreted as markup. For example, & becomes &amp;. Using entities ensures your content displays correctly and prevents special characters from breaking HTML structure.

When should I use Encode vs Decode?

Use Encode when inserting text into HTML to escape special characters. Use Decode when your content shows entities (like &amp;) to users and you need to convert them back to readable characters. The HTML Entity Converter supports both directions instantly.

What is the difference between named and numeric entities?

Named entities are human-friendly (e.g., &nbsp;), while numeric entities use code points (e.g.,  ). Choose named for readability or numeric for strict XML compatibility. The HTML Entity Converter lets you switch based on your requirements.

Does encoding with this tool prevent XSS?

Proper output encoding helps mitigate injection in HTML contexts, but it is not a complete security solution. Always combine encoding with input validation, context-aware escaping, and other best practices. For additional processing, consider using tools like the Regex Tester to audit content patterns.

Can it handle emojis and non-ASCII characters?

Yes. The HTML Entity Converter can encode or leave non-ASCII characters and emoji based on your settings. This is useful for email clients, legacy systems, and XML pipelines that require entity-safe content.

Use the HTML Entity Converter on Monkey Type to keep your HTML clean, consistent, and safe across all your publishing workflows. With streamlined controls and companion tools on Monkey Type, you can confidently prepare content for any web or email environment.