URL Encoder / Decoder
Encode special characters for use in URLs or decode URL-encoded strings back to human-readable format.
What is URL Encoding?
URL encoding converts characters that are not allowed in URLs into character-entity equivalents. For example, spaces are replaced with %20, question marks with %3F, and so on.
When to use URL Encoding:
- When including special characters in a URL
- When passing data in query parameters
- When building APIs that accept URL parameters
- When handling user input in URLs
When to use URL Decoding:
- When displaying encoded URLs to users
- When parsing URL parameters from encoded sources
- When debugging API requests
- When analyzing web analytics data
Examples
| Original Text | Encoded URL | Try |
|---|---|---|
https://example.com/path with spaces | https://example.com/path%20with%20spaces | |
https://example.com/search?q=hello world&lang=en | https://example.com/search?q=hello%20world&lang=en | |
https://example.com/symbols?tag=<script>&status=active | https://example.com/symbols?tag=%3Cscript%3E&status=active |
Frequently Asked Questions
What characters need to be encoded in URLs?
Characters that need to be encoded include spaces, question marks, ampersands, equal signs, plus signs, commas, dollar signs, and special symbols like <, >, #, %, and certain Unicode characters. Our tool handles the encoding of all these characters automatically.
Is URL encoding secure?
URL encoding is not a security feature or encryption method. It simply makes URLs safe for transmission by replacing unsafe characters with their encoded versions. For security, always use HTTPS and implement proper authentication and authorization mechanisms.
Does this tool work with all languages?
Yes, our tool supports URL encoding and decoding for all languages and character sets, including non-Latin scripts like Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Cyrillic, and others. Unicode characters are properly encoded for safe use in URLs.