What is an HTML Entity? A Guide to Using an HTML Entity Converter
Created on 1 October, 2025 • Developer Tools • 343 views • 2 minutes read
Learn what HTML entities (like < and &) are and why they are essential for displaying special characters on a webpage. Use our free online converter to encode and decode HTML entities.
Imagine you're writing a tutorial on your website here in Bangkok, and you want to show your readers a simple line of code, like <p>Hello World!</p>. You type it into your editor, hit preview, and... the code vanishes. All you see is the rendered text: Hello World!
So, how do you tell the browser to display the actual HTML tags instead of interpreting them as code? The answer lies in a fundamental part of web development: HTML Entities.
What Are HTML Entities?
An HTML entity is a special piece of code that represents a character. It's a way of telling the browser, "Hey, I want you to display this character literally, not treat it as part of the HTML structure."
These entities are essential because several characters are reserved in HTML and have a special meaning. The most important ones are:
- < (The less-than sign): The browser sees this and thinks a new HTML tag is starting.
- > (The greater-than sign): The browser sees this and thinks an HTML tag is ending.
- & (The ampersand): The browser sees this and thinks a new HTML entity is starting.
To display these characters on your page, you must use their entity equivalents. Entities can also be used for characters not found on a standard keyboard, like the copyright symbol ©.
To display <p>Hello World!</p>, you would need to write this in your HTML source code:
<p>Hello World!</p>
The Easiest Solution: An Online HTML Entity Converter
Manually converting every special character in a large block of code is tedious and a recipe for errors. The most efficient and reliable way to handle this is with a dedicated online tool.
For a fast and simple way to both encode and decode text, we recommend the HTML Entity Converter from Shortus.xyz.
Try the free tool here: https://shortus.xyz/tools/html-entity-converter
This tool allows you to instantly convert text in both directions.
How to Use the Converter:
To Encode Text (for displaying on a page):
- Copy the plain text or code you want to display (e.g., <div> & <span>).
- Paste it into the "Encode" box on the converter.
- The tool will instantly give you the encoded result: <div> & <span>.
- Copy this result and paste it into your HTML file. It will now display correctly on your website.
To Decode Entities (to get clean text):
- Copy text that contains HTML entities (e.g., AT&T).
- Paste it into the "Decode" box.
- The tool will show you the original, plain text: AT&T.
Understanding HTML entities is a fundamental skill for anyone working with the web in 2025. By using a converter, you can ensure your content always appears exactly as you intend, saving you time and frustration.