HTML Entities

HTML Entities: A Complete Guide

HTML entities are a critical aspect of web development that enables the encoding of special characters that may not be directly usable in the code. By understanding how to use HTML entities, developers can ensure their web pages are rendered correctly across various browsers and platforms. This tutorial will guide you through everything you need to know about HTML entities, their importance, syntax, and how to use them in different situations.

What are HTML Entities?

HTML entities are used to represent characters that have a special meaning in HTML. These characters might conflict with the HTML code or have specific functions, such as <, >, &, ", and '. HTML entities help to avoid these conflicts by providing an alternative way to represent these characters.

For example:

• The < character is used to begin an HTML tag, but if you want to display a less-than sign on your webpage, you would use the < entity.
• The & character is used to define an entity in HTML, but if you want to display an ampersand (&), you should use the & entity.

Types of HTML Entities

1. Character Entities: These entities represent characters that have a special meaning in HTML. For example, < for the less-than sign, > for the greater-than sign, and & for the ampersand.
2. Named Entities: Named entities are HTML entities with a human-readable name. For example, © for the copyright symbol.
3. Numeric Entities: Numeric entities are written as numbers. For example, © for the copyright symbol.
4. Unicode Characters: Unicode characters can also be represented using HTML entities to display characters from various languages and special symbols.

Some Useful HTML Character Entities

HTML character entities are used to display special characters that either conflict with the HTML syntax or are not readily available on a standard keyboard. Below is a list of useful HTML character entities:

• Result:   Description: non-breaking space Name: &nbsp; Number:  
• Result: < Description: less than Name: &lt; Number: <
• Result: > Description: greater than Name: &gt; Number: >
• Result: & Description: ampersand Name: &amp; Number: &
• Result: " Description: double quotation mark Name: &quot; Number: "
• Result: ' Description: single quotation mark Name: &#39; Number: '
• Result: ¢ Description: cent Name: &cent; Number: ¢
• Result: £ Description: pound Name: &pound; Number: £
• Result: ¥ Description: yen Name: &yen; Number: ¥
• Result: € Description: euro Name: &euro; Number: €
• Result: © Description: copyright Name: &copy; Number: ©
• Result: ® Description: trademark Name: &reg; Number: ®

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions about HTML Entities