Text to HTML

Automatically wrap plain text into valid HTML paragraphs and breaks

0Lines

Wrap in <p> tags

Convert newlines to <br>

Prepare plain text for a web page

Pasting raw text into an HTML file rarely works. Line breaks collapse into spaces, and characters like ampersands and angle brackets can be misread as markup. Text to HTML handles those basics. It escapes the characters that have special meaning in HTML and, if you want, adds paragraph and line-break tags so your text keeps its shape in a browser. It does not try to detect headings, lists or links, so it suits straightforward prose.

Converting your text

Type or paste your text into the Source Text editor, which shows line numbers. Load Sample inserts a short example and Paste pulls from the clipboard.
Choose your options below the editor: Wrap in <p> tags and Convert newlines to <br>. Both are ticked by default.
Click Convert to HTML.
Read the result in the Generated HTML Code panel, then use Copy or Download, which saves a file named converted.html.

What each step does to your text

First, the characters &, <, >, double quotes and single quotes are replaced with their HTML entities, so the text will display literally rather than being treated as tags. Then, if the line-break option is on, every newline becomes a br tag followed by a newline. Finally, if the paragraph option is on, the text is split at blank lines and each chunk is wrapped in a p element, with leading and trailing spaces trimmed. The header counter shows how many lines your source has.

Choosing the right combination

Want separate paragraphs? Untick the line-break option. With both boxes ticked, blank lines are converted to br tags before paragraphs are split, so you will typically get one paragraph containing several br tags rather than distinct paragraphs.
Want line breaks preserved exactly, as in an address or poem? Tick only the line-break option.
Want escaped text with no added tags? Untick both.

Everyday uses

Turning an email or a document draft into markup for a CMS field that accepts HTML.
Preparing a plain-text product description for an e-commerce listing.
Making a code sample or message safe to embed in a page, since angle brackets are escaped.
Building the body of an HTML email from a text draft before adding your own styling.

Limits

The result is a fragment, not a full page: there is no doctype, head or body. Multiple spaces are not preserved in a browser and links are not turned into anchors. Because the tool escapes everything, text that already contains HTML will show up as literal tags, so use it on plain text only. Conversion is done in your browser with JavaScript.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why do I get one paragraph instead of several?

When both options are ticked, newlines become br tags before the text is split into paragraphs, so blank lines no longer separate paragraphs. Untick Convert newlines to br if you want each blank-line-separated block wrapped in its own p tag.

Which characters does it escape?

It converts ampersands, less-than and greater-than signs, double quotes and single quotes into HTML entities. This keeps the text from being interpreted as markup, so a snippet like a tag written in your text will display as plain characters.

Can I convert text that already contains HTML tags?

Not usefully. Every angle bracket is escaped, so existing tags would show up as visible text in the browser. Use this tool only for plain text, or reformat existing markup with an HTML formatter instead.

Does it produce a complete HTML document?

No. The output is only the converted text with optional p and br tags. It has no doctype, head or body element, so paste it inside your own page template or a CMS field that accepts HTML.

What does the Download button save?

It saves the generated HTML code as a file named converted.html, using the text shown in the result panel. Because it is only a fragment, you may want to place it inside a full HTML structure before opening the file in a browser.