HTML Entities and Symbols

When working with HTML, you might have noticed special characters appearing as &, <, or >. These are HTML entities, which allow you to display reserved characters in a web page without breaking the HTML structure. Understanding these entities is essential for web developers, especially when dealing with special symbols, characters, and formatting text correctly.

What Are HTML Entities?

HTML entities are codes used to display reserved characters that have special meanings in HTML. For example:

• < (less than) and > (greater than) are used to define HTML tags.
• & (ampersand) is used to define HTML entities themselves.
• Spaces, accented letters, and currency symbols also have entity representations.

If you type < directly in your HTML code, the browser might interpret it as the start of a tag instead of displaying it as text. To avoid this, you use HTML entities.

Commonly Used HTML Entities

Why Use HTML Entities?

1. Prevent HTML Interpretation: If you want to display code snippets in HTML, you must use entities so browsers do not interpret them as actual HTML.

   Example:

   <p>The less than symbol is &lt; and the greater than symbol is &gt;.</p>

   Output:

   The less than symbol is < and the greater than symbol is >.

2. Ensure Browser Compatibility: Not all characters are available on all keyboards or character encodings. Entities make sure they render correctly.

3. Improve Readability and Accessibility: Special symbols (such as © for copyright) make text more readable.

Using HTML Entities in Web Pages

You can use HTML entities anywhere in an HTML document, including paragraphs, headings, links, and tables.

Example 1: Displaying Code with Special Characters

<p>To display HTML tags, use &lt;tagname&gt;.</p>

Output:

To display HTML tags, use <tagname>.

Example 2: Displaying Copyright Information

<p>All rights reserved &copy; 2025.</p>

Output:

All rights reserved © 2025.

Example 3: Preventing Special Character Issues

If you need to include an ampersand (&) in a URL, you should write:

<a href="https://example.com/search?query=HTML&amp;page=1">Search</a>

Output:

Search

Without &, the browser might misinterpret the URL.

Conclusion

HTML entities are crucial for displaying reserved characters correctly in web pages. Whether you’re dealing with <, >, &, or special symbols like ©, using the right HTML entity ensures your content is readable and properly formatted. By understanding and using these entities, you can write cleaner and more accessible HTML.

Further Reading

• HTML Entity Reference (W3Schools)
• MDN Web Docs – HTML Entities