Less-Than Sign <

The Less-Than Sign character (<) is a standard HTML entity defined in the HTML specification. In HTML source code, it can be written using the named entity reference &lt;, the decimal numeric character reference &#60;, or the hexadecimal numeric reference &#x3C;. The character is assigned Unicode code point U+003C in the Universal Character Set.

The less-than sign is a reserved character in HTML that signals the beginning of an HTML tag. It must always be escaped when displayed as literal text. Unescaped less-than signs can cause browsers to misinterpret following text as markup, potentially breaking page layout and creating security vulnerabilities through HTML injection.

Punctuation and whitespace entities are among the most frequently used HTML entities in web development. They handle characters that either have special meaning in HTML syntax — such as angle brackets and ampersands — or represent typographic characters that improve the visual quality of text, like em dashes and curly quotes. Proper use of punctuation entities is essential for producing valid, well-formed HTML documents and achieving professional-looking typography on the web.

When deciding how to encode the Less-Than Sign character in your HTML documents, the named entity &lt; is generally the most readable choice for developers reviewing or maintaining source code. The decimal form &#60; and hexadecimal form &#x3C; are equally valid alternatives that work in contexts where named entities may not be supported, or when generating HTML output programmatically from server-side code. All three representations produce identical visual output in every modern web browser.

Use the less-than entity when displaying code snippets, mathematical comparisons, or any text content that includes the < character. This is particularly important when showing HTML source code within a page, writing about template syntax, or displaying comparison operators in technical documentation.