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URL Encoder

Percent-encode text so it can travel safely inside a URL.

Encoding & Conversion Free, no sign-up Runs in your browser
Encoding mode

About the URL Encoder

URLs may only contain a limited set of characters. Anything else, including spaces, ampersands, question marks and every non-English letter, has to be written as a percent sign followed by two hexadecimal digits. URL Encoder does that conversion for you and shows the result ready to paste.

Two modes are offered because the right answer depends on where the text is going. Component mode escapes everything that is not safe inside a single query value, including ampersands, equals signs and slashes. This is what you want when encoding one parameter. Full URL mode leaves the structural characters of a URL alone so that an entire address stays usable while its spaces and accented characters are escaped.

Picking the wrong mode is the usual cause of broken links. Encoding a complete URL in component mode turns every slash into %2F and produces an address that no longer works; encoding a single value in full-URL mode leaves ampersands intact and lets a value split into two parameters.

How to use the URL Encoder

  1. Enter the text or URLPaste the value or address you want to encode.
  2. Choose the encoding modeComponent for a single query value, full URL for a complete address.
  3. Read the encoded resultThe output updates as you type.
  4. Copy it into your linkUse the copy button and paste the encoded value where you need it.

Features

  • Component mode for single query parameters
  • Full URL mode that preserves the address structure
  • Optional plus signs instead of %20 for form-style encoding
  • Correct handling of accented and non-Latin characters
  • Live result as you type
  • Copy the result in one click

Who uses this tool

The url encoder is used by writers, developers, students, marketers and anyone else who needs the job done once without installing software. Common cases include:

  • Building a search or tracking link with user-supplied values
  • Encoding a redirect target to pass inside another URL
  • Preparing API request parameters by hand for testing
  • Fixing links that break because of spaces or symbols
  • Encoding file names with accents for a download link

Frequently asked questions

When should I use component mode rather than full URL mode?

Use component mode whenever you are encoding one value that will sit inside a parameter, such as a search term or a redirect target. Use full URL mode only when you want to tidy a complete address while keeping its slashes, question mark and ampersands working.

Why is a space sometimes %20 and sometimes a plus sign?

Percent-twenty is the standard encoding for a space in a URL path or query. The plus sign comes from HTML form submission, where it has historically meant a space. Both appear in the wild, which is why the plus option is offered.

Do I need to encode characters such as hyphens and underscores?

No. Letters, digits, hyphen, underscore, full stop and tilde are always safe in a URL and are never escaped by either mode.

What happens to characters outside English?

They are converted to UTF-8 bytes first and each byte is written as a percent escape. That is why one accented letter often becomes two percent sequences.

Is encoding the same as making a link secure?

No. Encoding only ensures the characters survive transport. It provides no protection and no secrecy; a value in a URL can be read by anyone who sees the address.

Can I encode an entire query string at once?

Encode each value separately in component mode, then join them with ampersands and equals signs yourself. Encoding the whole string at once would escape the separators and break it.

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