How to Encode URL in JavaScript

Topic: JavaScript / jQueryPrev|Next

Answer: Use the encodeURIComponent() Method

You can use the built-in method encodeURIComponent() to safely encode a URL in JavaScript.

The encodeURIComponent() method encode all characters except the following:

A-Z a-z 0-9 - _ . ! ~ * ' ( )

Let's check out an example to understand how this method basically works:

<script>
    // URL unsafe string
    var item = "$url+/unsafe@item #name;"
    
    // Encode item name and append to URL
    var url = "http://example.com/search.php?product=" + encodeURIComponent(item);
    
    document.write(url);
    // Prints: http://example.com/search.php?product=%24url%2B%2Funsafe%40item%20%23name%3B
</script>

You can alternatively use the encodeURI() method, which does not encode characters that have special meaning (reserved characters) for a URI e.g. #, /, ?, etc.

The encodeURI() method encode all characters except the following:

A-Z a-z 0-9 ; , / ? : @ & = + $ - _ . ! ~ * ' ( ) #

The following example demonstrates how this method actually works:

<script>
    // Sample URL
    var url = "http://example.com/search.php?product=laptop&price=500#featured";
    
    document.write(url);
    // Prints: http://example.com/search.php?product=laptop&price=500#featured
</script>

Please check out the tutorials on HTML URL and HTML URL encoding to learn more about the different components of a URL and URL encoding.

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