URL Encoder / Decoder

Why people use this tool

URL Encoder / Decoder converts text to and from percent-encoding so that special characters such as spaces, ampersands, and non-ASCII letters travel safely inside query strings, API requests, and shareable links.

• Build query strings for tracking links, UTM parameters, and API requests.
• Decode messy redirect URLs to inspect the original destination.
• Sanitize text before pasting it into a URL parameter.

How to use it

1. 1Choose Encode or Decode mode.
2. 2Pick whether to treat the input as a single component or a full URI.
3. 3Paste the text or URL — the result updates instantly.

Best practices

• Use component encoding (encodeURIComponent) for individual query-string values.
• Use full-URI encoding (encodeURI) only when the entire URL needs to be encoded once.
• Decode incoming URL parameters before displaying them to users.
• Always re-encode user input before placing it back into a URL.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Do not double-encode an already-encoded URL — you will end up with %2520 instead of %20.
• Do not encode an entire URL with component encoding; the protocol and slashes will be mangled.
• Do not trust decoded text as safe HTML — escape it before rendering.
• Do not use URL encoding for binary data without Base64.