HTML entities: code and special characters in HTML

HTML entities are used to handle reserved characters in code or special characters during editing. These are specific character strings that tell the browser that a particular symbol should be displayed.

HTML Entities: what is it?

HTML entities allow you to express certain characters in an HTML document. These can be special characters that:

• are not easily accessible with the input method used or are difficult to enter.
• are reserved for HTML and perform a specific function during coding.

To be able to reproduce these characters without damaging the code, we use these clearly delimitable character strings. We distinguish between named entities (entity names) and digital entities (entity numbers). While named HTML entities are easier to read and remember, numeric entities are especially important when there is no named variation.

Named HTML entities

HTML named entities have the following format:

To represent for example the ampersand &it must be defined in the code as & (for the English word ampersand). The following example illustrates the use of the entity:

L’esperluette ressemble à ceci : &

Numeric HTML entities

Numeric entities are used in this format:

Instead of entity_numberyou must insert the Unicode value of the desired character. If you want to write the ampersand, the string & is the right choice. Here's what it looks like in code:

L’esperluette ressemble à ceci : &

HTML Entities: lists of main HTML entities

Whether you are just starting to learn the basics of HTML or have been using this markup language for a while, a list of the main HTML entities will be of great use to you in any case. Discover some of the most used entities later in this article.

HTML entities for punctuation

HTML entities for special characters

HTML entities for mathematical symbols

HTML entities for different currencies

HTML entities for accents in French