Character encodings such as UTF-8 are systems that map characters to numbers for computer storage and display. The problem is that if the browser uses incorrect encoding to parse text, it may lead to garbled code. Character encoding corresponds to a unique number for each character, for example "A" corresponds to 65. Common encodings include UTF-8, ISO-8859-1, and Windows-1252. UTF-8 has become the standard because it is ASCII compatible, supports over one million characters and is efficient. Setting encoding in HTML requires: 1. Add <meta charset="UTF-8"> to
; 2. Use UTF-8 when saving the file; 3. Make sure that the server HTTP header specifies UTF-8. Common problems and solutions include: 1. The text garbled should be checked whether the meta tag is consistent with the file encoding; 2. If a special character error requires confirmation that the form and database are also UTF-8; 3. If an old page error occurs, try to save it in BOM format; 4. The database connection also needs to be used; 5. Check the copy content to avoid non-standard characters and use tools to verify.HTML character encodings, like UTF-8, are systems that map characters—letters, symbols, emojis, and more—to numbers so computers can store and display them properly. Without the right encoding, browsers might misinterpret text and show weird symbols or scrambled words.

What is a Character Encoding?
Character encoding is a way to translate human-readable characters into bytes that computers understand. Each character gets a unique number. For example, in UTF-8, the letter "A" is represented by the number 65.

Think of it like a dictionary: when a browser reads an HTML file, it uses the encoding to look up what each number means in terms of letters or symbols. If the browser uses the wrong dictionary (encoding), things get mixed up.
Common encodings include:

- UTF-8 – most widely used today, supports almost all characters
- ISO-8859-1 – older standard, limited to Western European characters
- Windows-1252 – similar to ISO but include extra symbols like curly quotes
Why UTF-8 Is the Standard
UTF-8 became the go-to encoding because:
- It's backward compatible with ASCII (the original character set for English)
- It handles over a million characters , covering most languages ??and symbols
- It's efficient – ??common characters like English letters use less data
This flexibility makes UTF-8 ideal for websites that serve global audiences. You'll rarely see issues like “weird question marks” or boxes with UTF-8, as long as it's declared correctly in your HTML.
How to Set Character Encoding in HTML
Setting the correct encoding in HTML is simple, but skipping this step can cause problems. Here's how to do it:
- Always include
<meta charset="UTF-8">
inside thesection
- Save your HTML file using the same encoding (UTF-8) in your editor
- For server-side settings, make sure HTTP headers also specify UTF-8
Many editors, like VS Code or Sublime Text, let you choose the file encoding when saving. Also, if you're using a CMS or framework, double-check its default settings to avoid mismatches.
Common Issues and Fixes
Even with UTF-8, problems can still pop up:
- Text looks garbled : Check if the HTML meta tag matches the file encoding
- Special characters break : Make sure forms and databases also use UTF-8
- Old pages show squares or question marks : Try re-saving files as UTF-8 without BOM
If you're pulling content from a database, ensure the connection uses UTF-8 too. In PHP, for example, you might need mysqli_set_charset($connection, 'utf8')
.
Sometimes even small things like copy-pasting from Word can sneak in non-standard characters. Tools like HTML validators or online encoders can help catch these hidden issues.
Basically that's it.
The above is the detailed content of What are HTML character encodings (like UTF-8)?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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