URL Encode and Decode
Percent-encode or decode text for use in web addresses.
Why URLs need encoding
Web addresses can only contain a limited set of characters. Spaces, accents and symbols such as & and = have special meaning or are not allowed, so they are replaced with a percent sign and two hexadecimal digits. A space becomes %20.
Component or full URL?
Component mode encodes almost everything, and is right for a value that goes inside a query string, such as a search term. Full URL mode keeps characters like / ? & and = so a whole address stays usable.
Example
In component mode, “a b&c=d/é” becomes a%20b%26c%3Dd%2F%C3%A9. Everything runs in your browser.
Frequently asked questions
Why is é encoded as %C3%A9?
Characters outside plain ASCII are first turned into UTF-8 bytes, and each byte is written as a percent code.
Is + the same as %20?
In query strings from HTML forms, + can mean a space. This tool uses %20, which is correct everywhere.
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