HTML URL Encoding

🔗 HTML URL Encoding

URL Encoding, also known as percent encoding, is used to convert characters into a format that can be safely transmitted over the internet through a URL.

❓ What Is URL Encoding?

URLs can only use the ASCII character set. Characters outside this range or reserved characters (like spaces or @, #, %) must be encoded.

This is done by replacing such characters with a percent sign (%) followed by two hexadecimal digits representing their ASCII value.

❌ Characters That Require Encoding

• Spaces ( )
• Symbols (@, #, %, &, ?, etc.)
• Non-ASCII characters (é, ñ, ✓, etc.)

✅ Example:

🔣 Common Encoded Characters

🕵️ When Is URL Encoding Used?

• 🔍 Query Strings: ?name=John Doe → ?name=John%20Doe
• 📩 Form Submissions (GET method)
• 📁 Path Parameters
• 📧 Email Links or Redirect URLs

📝 Example: HTML Form with URL Encoding

📌 Resulting URL on submission:

The space is encoded as %20 automatically by the browser.

📌 Key Takeaway

• URL encoding ensures special and non-ASCII characters are safely transmitted.
• Characters are replaced with % followed by their ASCII hex value.
• Especially important for query strings, form data, and dynamic URLs.
• 🧠 Browsers automatically handle this encoding in form submissions and <a> links.