Utilizist
Developer

URL Encoder/Decoder

Safely encode or decode text for URL usage

Inputs

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URL Encoder and Decoder: Secure Web Addresses

URL encoding (also known as percent-encoding) is the process of converting invalid or special characters within a web address into a format that can be seamlessly transmitted and read by browsers.

Key Terms

Fundamental concepts you should know in the world of URLs:

  • Encode: Converting special characters (spaces, &, ?, etc.) into codes preceded by a % sign.
  • Decode: Reverting encoded URL structures back to their original text or symbols.
  • Percent-Encoding: Representing a character by its hexadecimal value preceded by a %.
  • Query String: The part of a URL that carries data, starting after the ?.

What Are These Terms?

Why Use URL Encoding?

URL packages can only carry characters from a subset of the [US-ASCII] character set. If you want to send spaces, non-English characters, or characters with special meanings in URLs (like ?, &) as actual data, encoding them is a technical necessity.

How Does Encoding Work?

Each unsafe character is replaced by a % sign followed by two hexadecimal digits representing its numeric value. For example, a space becomes %20, while a question mark ? becomes %3F.

How Does The Tool Work?

Conversion Logic

Our tool follows modern web standards (RFC 3986) for encoding:

  1. Encoding: Converts all special characters in your input into a URL-safe format.
  2. Decoding: Instantly reverts all codes starting with % back to their original forms.

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Select Mode: Choose either "Encode" or "Decode" mode.
  2. Input Data: Paste the text you want to encode or the URL you want to decode into the box.
  3. Check Results: The converted data will appear instantly below.
  4. Usage: Copy the result for use in your API requests or web browser's address bar.

Real-World Examples

  • Sending Parameters: If you want to add the phrase red & white as a query parameter, you must encode it to red%20%26%20white to avoid the & being interpreted as a parameter separator.
  • Cleaning URLs: Use the "Decode" mode to understand what's hidden inside a complex, percent-heavy link you've received.

Pro Tip: Ensuring characters are correctly encoded when creating SEO-friendly (pretty URL) structures is important for both user experience and search engine crawlers.