Q174- What are HTML entities?

HTML entities are special codes used to display reserved characters or symbols in HTML that would otherwise be interpreted as part of the markup.

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Why HTML Entities are Needed

• Certain characters like <, >, & are reserved in HTML.
• Using them directly may break the HTML structure.
• HTML entities encode these characters so they are displayed correctly in the browser.

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Syntax

&entity_name;   <!-- Named entity -->
&#entity_number; <!-- Numeric entity -->

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Common HTML Entities

Character	Entity Name	Entity Number
<	&lt;	&#60;
>	&gt;	&#62;
&	&amp;	&#38;
"	&quot;	&#34;
'	&apos;	&#39;
Non-breaking space	&nbsp;	&#160;

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Example

<p>Display less than &lt; and greater than &gt; symbols.</p>
<p>Use &amp; for ampersand symbol.</p>

Output in Browser:

Display less than < and greater than > symbols.
Use & for ampersand symbol.

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💡 In Short:

HTML entities let you display reserved characters or special symbols in HTML safely without breaking the page structure.