HTML Entities

HTML Entities are special codes that represent characters or symbols that cannot be easily typed or represented with normal keyboard characters. They are essential for displaying reserved characters and symbols correctly in HTML documents, ensuring proper rendering across different browsers and devices.

Understanding HTML Entities

In HTML, some characters have special meanings and are reserved for specific purposes, such as < for the beginning of a tag and & for marking the start of an entity. When these characters need to be displayed as part of the content rather than interpreted as HTML code, entities are used.

Types of HTML Entities

1. Character Entities: These represent characters that have special significance in HTML, such as angle brackets and ampersands.

2. Numeric Entities: These are represented by their Unicode code points and are used to display characters that may not have an accessible keyboard representation.

Character Entities

Character entities begin with an ampersand (&) and end with a semicolon (;). Here are some common character entities:

Numeric Entities

Numeric entities use the format &#code; where code is the decimal or hexadecimal Unicode code point of the character.

For example:

©   
®   
€  

Using HTML Entities

Entities are used within HTML documents to ensure that reserved characters appear correctly in browsers. They are especially useful when writing content that includes code examples or displaying special symbols.

Example Usage:

<p>To display a less than symbol, use &lt; in HTML.</p>

Best Practices

1. Use Entities for Special Characters: Always use entities for characters like <, &, quotes, and other reserved symbols to avoid parsing errors in HTML.

2. Unicode Support: Use numeric entities when characters are not easily accessible through standard keyboard input, ensuring compatibility across different platforms and languages.