What is URL Encoding?

URL encoding converts characters into a format that can be transmitted over the Internet. URLs can only be sent over the Internet using the ASCII character-set.

The Problem with Special Characters

Since URLs often contain characters outside the ASCII set, the URL has to be converted into a valid ASCII format. URL encoding replaces unsafe ASCII characters with a "%" followed by two hexadecimal digits.

Common URL Encodings

Encoding Functions in JavaScript

If you are a developer, you might use these functions to encode URLs:

• encodeURI(): Encodes a complete URI.
• encodeURIComponent(): Encodes a URI component (like a query parameter).

const url = "https://example.com/search?q=hello world";
const encoded = encodeURI(url);
// Results: https://example.com/search?q=hello%20world