What the URL encoder is for
Web addresses may only contain a limited set of characters, so spaces, accented letters and symbols such as & or ? inside a value must be written as percent codes: a space becomes %20 and ş becomes %C5%9F. This tool encodes text for use in a URL and decodes percent codes back into readable text. By default it encodes everything, which is right for a single query value; tick the option to keep a whole address readable. Decoding also turns + into spaces, as forms send them. It runs in your browser.
Frequently asked questions
Why is a space %20 in some URLs and + in others?
Both mean a space. %20 is the general URL encoding; + is how HTML forms send spaces in query strings. This tool decodes both.
When should I encode a whole URL?
When you have a full address with spaces or non-English characters in it and want a working link. For a value you are putting into a URL, such as a search term, encode the value on its own.
Why does decoding fail?
A percent sign must be followed by two hexadecimal digits, and the codes must form valid UTF-8. A stray % or a cut-off code makes the text impossible to decode; fix or remove it.