HTML Escape – Convert HTML to Safe Text & Prevent Rendering

Do you need to display HTML code on a webpage without the browser interpreting it? Or do you need to secure user input? Our free online entity encoder is the perfect solution. It converts HTML characters into safe, displayable entities.

This HTML entity encoder is fast, secure, and essential for web development and security. You can use it to prevent dangerous code from running or to show code examples clearly. Therefore, start your convert HTML to safe text process now.

Your Free, Fast, and Secure Online HTML Escape Tool

HTML escaping is a crucial process for web integrity. Because browsers treat characters like < and > as instructions, they must be specially encoded when used as regular text. The HTML Escape tool performs this essential conversion automatically.

How to Use Our Online HTML Escape Tool

You can complete your convert HTML to safe text process in three simple steps.

1. Input Your HTML: Paste the HTML code, script tags, or text containing symbols into the input box.

2. Click Escape: Press the “Escape HTML” button.

3. Output and Copy: The resulting string, containing HTML entities (like < for <), appears instantly. You can now safely copy this text.

What is HTML Escaping? (Encoding for Security)

HTML escaping is the process of replacing specific, instruction-based characters with their entity equivalents. This ensures the browser treats them as text, not as code to execute.

The Core Purpose: Preventing Rendering

When a browser reads the character < followed by a letter, it assumes a tag is opening. Therefore, if you want the browser to display the character < itself, you must encode it as an entity. The HTML Escape process achieves this by turning < into <.

The Security Benefit (Stopping XSS Attacks)

This is the most critical use of any security tool that handles web data. Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) is a common vulnerability. It happens when a malicious user injects executable code into a website form. Consequently, the website then displays and runs the script for all other users. To prevent this, you must HTML Escape all user input before displaying it. This renders the dangerous code harmlessly as plain text.

Key Conversions: The Three Essential HTML Entities

Most of the escaping process focuses on just three characters that the browser considers to be instructions.

Converting Less Than (<) to <

The less than symbol (<) is the trigger for any HTML tag (e.g., <div>). Therefore, converting it to < is the fundamental step in preventing unintended rendering.

Converting Greater Than (>) to >

The greater than symbol (>) closes an HTML tag. Conversely, if you do not escape it, the browser might prematurely close a tag or misinterpret the structure. We convert it to >.

Converting the Ampersand (&) to &

The ampersand (&) is the trigger for all named HTML entities. Thus, if you want to display an ampersand as part of your text, you must escape it to &amp. If you do not, the browser might confuse it with the start of a character entity.

Explore Our Other Conversion Tools

If this online HTML Escape tool helped you, you might also like these related tools:

• HTML Unescape: You need this tool to reverse the process and convert entities back into functional HTML tags.

• URL Encoder: For encoding unsafe characters that appear in a web address.

• JSON Formatter: If you are escaping structured data, use this to validate the JSON structure first.

Ready to Convert HTML to Safe Text?

Protect your users and display your code clearly.

Use our free HTML Escape tool at the top of this page to convert your text instantly.