and you insert that directly into HTML without encoding, it will execute as JavaScript — a classic XSS attack. Encoding turns it into <script>alert("xss")</script> which displays safely as text."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What is the difference between named and numeric HTML entities?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Named entities use a short descriptive name like & or ©. Numeric entities use the Unicode code point as either a decimal number (&) or a hex number (&). All three represent the same character. Named entities are more readable; numeric entities work for any Unicode character even if no named form exists."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Does modern HTML5 require HTML entity encoding?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"HTML5 documents served with UTF-8 encoding can include most Unicode characters directly without entity encoding — the browser can render them natively. However, you still MUST encode the four characters that have structural meaning in HTML: & (&), < (<), > (>), and \" (") inside attribute values. Failing to encode these causes broken markup."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What is  ?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"  is the non-breaking space entity. It inserts a space character that browsers will not collapse into nothing (as they do with multiple regular spaces) and will not break across at a line wrap. It's commonly used in table cells, button text, or anywhere you need a guaranteed visible space that won't be trimmed."}}]}

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Common HTML entities reference▾

Character	Named entity	Numeric
&	&	&
<	<	<
>	>	>
"	"	"
'	'	'
©	©	©
®	®	®
™	™	™
€	€	€
£	£	£
—	—	—
…	…	…
°	°	°
×	×	×
÷	÷	÷

Frequently Asked Questions

What are HTML entities?

HTML entities are special codes used to represent characters that have a reserved meaning in HTML, or characters that are difficult to type. They always start with & and end with ;. For example, & represents &, < represents <, and > represents >. They can also represent any Unicode character using numeric codes like © (©) or ❤ (❤).

When should I encode HTML entities?

You should encode HTML entities any time you inject user-provided text or dynamic data into HTML markup. If a user types <script>alert("xss")</script> and you insert that directly into HTML without encoding, it will execute as JavaScript — a classic XSS attack. Encoding turns it into <script>alert("xss")</script> which displays safely as text.

What is the difference between named and numeric HTML entities?

Named entities use a short descriptive name like & or ©. Numeric entities use the Unicode code point as either a decimal number (&#38;) or a hex number (&#x26;). All three represent the same character. Named entities are more readable; numeric entities work for any Unicode character even if no named form exists.

Does modern HTML5 require HTML entity encoding?

HTML5 documents served with UTF-8 encoding can include most Unicode characters directly without entity encoding — the browser can render them natively. However, you still MUST encode the four characters that have structural meaning in HTML: & (&amp;), < (&lt;), > (&gt;), and " (&quot;) inside attribute values. Failing to encode these causes broken markup.

What is &nbsp;?

&nbsp; is the non-breaking space entity. It inserts a space character that browsers will not collapse into nothing (as they do with multiple regular spaces) and will not break across at a line wrap. It's commonly used in table cells, button text, or anywhere you need a guaranteed visible space that won't be trimmed.