URL Encoder & Decoder

Enter URL or Text

Output

Your result will appear here

About URL Encoding

URL encoding (also called percent encoding) is a mechanism for encoding information in a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) under certain circumstances. It involves converting characters that are not allowed in a URL into a valid format using a percent (%) sign followed by a two-digit hexadecimal value. For example, spaces become %20, and characters like &, ?, or = are also encoded to prevent issues during transmission.

URL decoding is the reverse of encoding. It converts a percent-encoded URL back to its original form.

Why Use URL Encoder?

  • Ensure URL Validity: URL encoding is important for encoding special characters such as spaces, which are not allowed in URLs. This ensures the URL remains valid and functional.
  • Prevent Errors: When submitting data via URLs (for example, in GET requests), encoding ensures that special characters don’t break the query or parameters.
  • Secure Data Transmission: URL encoding also helps prevent issues with URL interpretation across different systems, especially when dealing with user-generated content or unpredictable input.

How URL Encoding Works

URL encoding is necessary when certain characters, such as spaces, are part of a URL. These characters need to be encoded to make sure they can be properly transmitted over the internet. Here’s how URL encoding works:

  • Spaces are replaced with %20
  • Special characters like &, =, ?, etc., are also encoded to avoid confusion with the URL syntax.
  • The process is important for working with query strings or when dealing with URL parameters that may contain special symbols or non-ASCII characters.

How URL Decoding Works

URL decoding converts a previously encoded URL back into its readable format. For example, if the URL contains %20, it will be decoded back to a space. URL decoding is useful when handling URL parameters that were encoded for safe transmission, allowing you to retrieve the original string from the encoded format.

Using URL Encoding and Decoding in JavaScript

In JavaScript, you can use encodeURIComponent() to encode a URL and decodeURIComponent() to decode a URL. Here are some examples:

URL Encoding with encodeURIComponent()

The encodeURIComponent() function encodes a URL by escaping special characters. Example:

const url = "https://example.com/search?query=Hello World!";
const encodedUrl = encodeURIComponent(url);
console.log(encodedUrl);
// Output: "https%3A%2F%2Fexample.com%2Fsearch%3Fquery%3DHello%2520World%2521"
URL Decoding with decodeURIComponent()

The decodeURIComponent() function decodes a previously encoded URL. Example:

const encodedUrl = "https%3A%2F%2Fexample.com%2Fsearch%3Fquery%3DHello%2520World%2521";
const decodedUrl = decodeURIComponent(encodedUrl);
console.log(decodedUrl);
// Output: "https://example.com/search?query=Hello World!"