URL Encoder Decoder

A URL Encoder Decoder is a tool that converts strings into a format that can be safely transmitted in a URL, and vice versa. URLs can only contain certain characters—letters, numbers, and a few special characters like hyphen and underscore. Other characters like spaces, ampersands, question marks, and non-ASCII characters must be 'encoded' or 'percent-encoded' to be used in a URL. This tool lets you encode a string (turning it into a URL-safe format) or decode an encoded string back to its original form.

Here is how it works. You type or paste a string into the input box. If you want to encode it (for use in a URL), you click the 'Encode' button. The tool replaces unsafe characters with a percent sign followed by their ASCII code in hexadecimal. For example, a space becomes %20, an ampersand (&) becomes %26. The encoded result appears instantly. If you have an encoded string and want to see the original, you paste it and click 'Decode.' The tool converts %20 back to spaces, %26 back to &, and so on. All processing happens in your browser.

Who uses this? Web developers use it constantly when building URLs with query parameters, especially when those parameters contain spaces, special characters, or non-ASCII text. SEO specialists use it to understand and clean up URLs. Marketers use it when creating tracking links. System administrators use it for debugging. Anyone who works with web addresses and query strings needs URL encoding/decoding at some point.

Benefits are about avoiding errors and security issues. If you put an unencoded space or ampersand in a URL, it will break—the browser will misinterpret where the URL ends. Encoding ensures the URL is interpreted correctly. For example, a search query like 'cats & dogs' must be encoded as 'cats%20%26%20dogs' to work. Decoding helps you read encoded URLs—like when you see '%40' in a link and want to know it's an '@' symbol. This tool saves you from manually looking up percent codes or writing scripts. It's instant, accurate, and handles all characters.

Common use cases include:

• Query parameters: Encoding values that contain spaces, &, =, or other special characters.
• Tracking links: Creating UTMs with campaign names that include spaces.
• API requests: Encoding data in URL paths or query strings.
• Debugging: Decoding URLs to understand what parameters are being sent.
• Form submissions: Understanding encoded form data.
• International URLs: Encoding non-ASCII characters (like é or 中文) for use in URLs.

The tool follows standard URL encoding rules (RFC 3986). It encodes all characters except A-Z a-z 0-9 and - _ . ~. It correctly handles UTF-8 for international characters. The interface is simple: two boxes and two buttons. You can also switch between encode and decode instantly. All processing is client-side, so your data stays private. No signup, no limits, completely free.