URL Encode / Decode
Percent-encode or decode URL components.
About this tool
Percent-encoding replaces characters that have structural meaning in a URL — spaces, ampersands, question marks, slashes — with a % and their byte value, so they can travel inside a query parameter without breaking the address.
Most often needed when a redirect URL, search term, or UTM value contains punctuation and the link silently truncates at the first unencoded ampersand.
Common questions
Why did my link break at the ampersand?
An & separates query parameters, so an unencoded & inside a value ends that value and starts a new parameter. Encoding it as %26 keeps it part of the string.
What is the difference between encodeURI and encodeURIComponent?
encodeURI is for a whole URL and deliberately leaves :/?&= intact so the structure survives. encodeURIComponent is for a single value and encodes those characters too. Using the wrong one is the usual cause of a mangled redirect parameter.
Why do I sometimes see + instead of %20 for a space?
Both appear. Form submissions historically encode a space as +, while percent-encoding uses %20. Decoders generally accept either in a query string, but + is not valid as a space in the path portion of a URL.
Turn it into an interactive demo
createademo turns screenshots and recordings into demos your buyers click through themselves. Free plan, full editor, no credit card.