Demystifying URL Encoding, Percent Signs, and Query String Parameters

  <h2>Why Special Characters Break URLs</h2>
  <p>The URI specification defines a strict set of reserved characters (<code>?</code>, <code>&</code>, <code>=</code>, <code>/</code>, <code>#</code>). When user data contains these symbols, they must be percent-encoded to prevent breaking the URL's structural syntax.</p>

  <h3>encodeURI vs. encodeURIComponent</h3>
  <ul>
    <li><strong>encodeURI():</strong> Encodes spaces and non-ASCII characters while preserving functional URL delimiters like <code>https://</code> and <code>/</code>.</li>
    <li><strong>encodeURIComponent():</strong> Encodes <em>all</em> special characters; essential when passing a full URL as a query parameter value.</li>
  </ul>

  <p>Encode or decode problematic URLs instantly with the <a href="/url-encoder">Boad URL Encoder/Decoder</a>.</p>