HTML Entities
HTML Entities are codes or sequences used to represent special characters and symbols that have specific meanings in HTML, like angle brackets (< and >) or ampersands (&). These characters are often used to define the structure of an HTML document itself. However, there are instances where you may want to display these characters on a webpage without having the browser interpret them as part of the HTML structure. In such cases, HTML entities come to the rescue.
In the below PDF we discuss about HTML Entities in detail in simple language, Hope this will help in better understanding.
Common HTML Entities:
HTML entities cover a wide range of characters, and they are categorized into different groups, such as:
1. Character Entities:
These are entities that represent specific characters, like the copyright symbol © (©) and the trademark symbol ™ (™).
2. Mathematical and Technical Entities:
These entities include mathematical symbols like ∑ (∑) and technical symbols like ⇐ (⇐).
3. Currency Entities:
These entities represent currency symbols, such as the Euro (€) (€) and the British Pound (£) (£).
4. Emoji Entities:
To add emojis to your web content, you can use HTML entities.
Use of HTML Entities:
- Character Encoding:
HTML entities enable the proper encoding of characters, ensuring that text is displayed accurately, regardless of the character’s nature. For example, the entity © represents the copyright symbol ©. Without proper encoding, this symbol could cause issues in your HTML document. - Accessibility:
Using HTML entities is essential for web accessibility. They make web content more accessible to people with disabilities by ensuring that screen readers and other assistive technologies can interpret and convey the content correctly. - Cross-Browser Compatibility:
Different web browsers may interpret characters differently. Using HTML entities ensures consistent rendering across various browsers. - Avoiding Conflicts:
Some characters, such as < and >, have special meanings in HTML. To display these characters as regular text, you must use the corresponding HTML entities to avoid conflicts with the markup
Related Question
HTML entities are codes or character references used to represent special characters, symbols, or reserved characters in HTML documents.
HTML entities are used to display characters that have special meanings in HTML, like angle brackets (< and >), or characters that may not display properly in some browsers, like non-breaking spaces.
HTML entities are written using an ampersand (&) followed by the entity name or code, and then a semicolon (;). For example, < represents the less-than symbol (<).
The HTML entity for the copyright symbol is ©.
