By ToolzHive
About this tool
The mailto link generator builds an email link that opens the visitor's email app with everything filled in: the recipients, CC and BCC, subject and message body. Special characters and line breaks are encoded correctly so the email arrives exactly as intended, and an optional setting encodes the address as HTML entities to make it harder for spam bots to harvest.
How to use Mailto Link Generator
- Enter the recipient addresses, and CC or BCC if needed.
- Add a subject, message and the link text.
- Copy the HTML link or the mailto URL, and test it in the preview.
Worked example
A "Request a quote" button can open an email to sales@example.com with the subject "Quote request" and a message template the customer only needs to complete.
Example: an email link with a subject
For hello@example.com and the subject Project quote, the URL is mailto:hello@example.com?subject=Project%20quote. Paste the generated HTML into a page to create a clickable link; use the URL output when another editor supplies its own link field.
Encoding and HTML attributes
Spaces and reserved characters in the subject and body need URL encoding. An ampersand that separates URL parameters also needs HTML escaping inside an HTML attribute. Use the appropriate output instead of manually editing the encoded string.
Bcc is visible in page source
Bcc recipients are hidden from other recipients by the email client, but addresses embedded in a website link are visible to anyone who inspects that link. Do not place confidential addresses in a public mailto URL.
Test with the visitor email app
A mailto link opens an installed or configured email handler; it does not send mail itself. Check the recipient, subject and body in a draft before publishing. HTML entity encoding is not reliable protection against address harvesting.
What is a mailto link?
A link starting with mailto: that opens the visitor's default email program with a new message instead of loading a web page.
Does hiding the address stop all spam?
Encoding the address as HTML entities stops simple scrapers, but determined bots can decode it. A contact form offers stronger protection.
Why are spaces shown as %20?
URLs cannot contain spaces or line breaks, so they are percent-encoded. Email apps decode them back to normal text.
Put this guide into practice
- Mailto Link Generator — Create mailto email links with subject, body, CC and BCC, and hide them from spam bots.