Component or Full URL: which should I use?

Use Component for a single value, which encodes every reserved character. Use Full URL for a complete address, which keeps characters such as : / ? & = and #.

Why do spaces become %20?

A URL cannot contain a space, so it is written as %20. Some HTML forms encode spaces as + instead; that is a separate form-encoding convention.

Encoding & decoding

URL Encoder & Decoder

Encode and decode URL components, with examples.

Encode text so it can go safely in a URL, or decode a percent-encoded URL back to readable text. Processing happens in your browser.

ModeScope

Text to encode

Encoded output

Type or paste text to encode it.

Which scope to use

Component scope encodes every reserved character, so use it for a single value. Full URL scope keeps the characters that structure a URL, such as : / ? & = and #, so use it for a complete address.

Example	Scope	Encoded output
A query value `Tom & Jerry = fun?`	Component	`Tom%20%26%20Jerry%20%3D%20fun%3F`
A complete address `https://example.com/search?q=hello world&lang=en`	Full URL	`https://example.com/search?q=hello%20world&lang=en`

Privacy: this tool runs in your browser. The data you enter is not sent to a server.

How to use URL Encoder & Decoder

Choose Encode or Decode.
Pick Component to encode one value, such as a query parameter, or Full URL for a whole address.
Paste the text and copy the result.

URL encoding explained

Frequently asked questions

Component or Full URL: which should I use?: Use Component for a single value, which encodes every reserved character. Use Full URL for a complete address, which keeps characters such as : / ? & = and #.
Why do spaces become %20?: A URL cannot contain a space, so it is written as %20. Some HTML forms encode spaces as + instead; that is a separate form-encoding convention.

JSON & data