Encode and decode URLs, query strings and special characters online free developer tool.
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Read Guide →URL encoding (percent-encoding) converts special characters into a format safe for internet transmission. Characters like spaces, ampersands, and hash symbols have special meanings in URLs, so they must be encoded (e.g., space becomes %20) to avoid breaking the URL structure.
encodeURI() encodes a complete URL but preserves characters like colons, slashes, and question marks. encodeURIComponent() encodes everything, making it suitable for encoding individual query parameter values. Use encodeURIComponent for values and encodeURI for full URLs.
In URL encoding (RFC 3986), a space is encoded as %20. In form data (application/x-www-form-urlencoded), spaces are encoded as +. Both represent a space, but %20 is the standard for URL paths while + is used in query strings from HTML form submissions.
URL-encode data when passing values in query strings, including special characters in API requests, embedding user-generated content in URLs, or sending form data via GET requests. Most programming languages have built-in functions for this.
No. URL encoding replaces unsafe ASCII characters with percent followed by hex digits. Base64 encoding converts binary data into a text string using 64 characters. URL encoding makes strings URL-safe; Base64 makes binary data text-safe. They serve different purposes.