# URL Encode

Canonical: https://herebetools.com/url-encode

Percent-encode and decode URLs and query strings

Encode text for safe use in URLs by converting special characters to percent-encoded %XX sequences. Decode encoded URLs back to human-readable form instantly. Supports both encodeURIComponent mode (also encodes /, ?, and &) and full URL encoding. Useful for building query strings, debugging HTTP redirects, working with REST APIs, and encoding path segments that contain spaces or special characters.

## Questions and answers

### What is the difference between URL encoding and encodeURIComponent?

encodeURIComponent encodes everything except letters, digits, and - _ . ! ~ * ( ), making it safe for query string values. Full URL encoding preserves characters like / and ? that have structural meaning in a URL.

## Related tools

- [URL Inspector](https://herebetools.com/url-validate): Parse and inspect URL components and query params
- [Escape / Unescape](https://herebetools.com/escape): Escape and unescape HTML, JS, JSON, and URL strings
- [Base64](https://herebetools.com/base64): Encode and decode Base64 strings and files

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