URL Encoder & Decoder
Output
What is URL Encoding?
URL encoding, also known as percent encoding is a process that converts characters into a format that can be sent over the Internet. On the Internet, URLs can only be sent using ASCII characters. It replaces unsafe characters with a “%” followed by two hexadecimal digits. For example, a space becomes %20.
Reserved characters: Characters like ?, :, /, #, & have special meaning within URLs. Therefore you can’t place them directly inside URLs without encoding or escaping.
Unsafe characters: Many characters like space, <, >, {, } are unsafe and must be encoded before placing them inside URLs.
Non ASCII characters: Finally, you cannot securely transmit any character outside the ASCII character set inside URLs. You must encode them.
Common ASCII characters and their URL encoded value
| Character | URL Encoding (UTF-8) |
|---|---|
| space | %20 |
| “ | %22 |
| % | %25 |
| & | %26 |
| / | %2F |
| = | %3D |
| ? | %3F |
| @ | %40 |
Other Tools
FAQs
What is URL?
A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the unique address used to identify a specific resource on the internet.
Why do we encode URL?
We encode URLs to make sure they work properly on the internet. Some characters (like spaces, &, #, etc.) can break a link or be misunderstood by web browsers. So, we change them into a special format so the link stays safe and works just like it should.
What is %20 in a URL?
%20 is the percent encoding of the space character.
What is %2f in a URL?
%2f is the percent encoding of forward slash (/) character.