Question 1

What is an HTML entity?

Accepted Answer

An HTML entity is a piece of text that begins with an ampersand (&) and ends with a semicolon (;). It is used to display reserved characters, invisible characters or symbols that are difficult to type with a regular keyboard, such as & (the ampersand itself) and < (the less-than sign).

Question 2

What is the difference between named and numeric entities?

Accepted Answer

Named entities use a memorable name like &copy; for the copyright symbol. Numeric entities use the Unicode code point, like &#169; or &#xA9; for the same symbol. Named entities are easier to read; numeric entities are more universally supported.

Question 3

How do I encode special characters in HTML?

Accepted Answer

Paste your text into the Encoder section, then click Encode. Every special character will be replaced with its HTML entity equivalent so the text is safe to embed in HTML source.

Question 4

Is this entities list complete?

Accepted Answer

This tool covers the W3C standard set of 252 named HTML entities plus common Unicode characters. It includes math symbols, currency, Greek letters, arrows, typographic and Latin extended characters.