| Character | HTML Entity | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| < | < | Prevents HTML tag interpretation |
| > | > | Closes potential injection points |
| & | & | Stops entity reference confusion |
| " | " | Protects attribute values |
Whenever you display content submitted by users (comments, forum posts, etc.), encoding is essential to neutralize potentially malicious code. An HTML Entity Encoder automatically sanitizes this content while preserving its intended display format.
Entity encoding ensures special characters and symbols from various languages display correctly across all browsers and devices. This is particularly important for websites with multilingual content or mathematical symbols.
Different contexts require different encoding approaches. Content within HTML elements needs different handling than content within attributes or JavaScript strings. A good HTML Entity Encoder should automatically apply the appropriate encoding based on context.
While encoding is crucial, excessive encoding can impact page load times. Modern encoders optimize performance by only encoding necessary characters and providing options for batch processing of large content blocks.
