XML Formatter & Beautifier
Paste your XML to format, validate and beautify it instantly. Supports minification and syntax highlighting. Everything runs in your browser — nothing is sent to any server.
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JSON vs XML: Which Should You Use for Your API?
JSON and XML both represent structured data, but they have very different strengths. Learn when to use each format, how they compare in size and verbosity, and which is right for your use case.
What Is SVG? A Developer's Guide to Scalable Vector Graphics
SVG is an XML-based vector format that scales to any size without losing quality. Learn how SVG works, when to use it over PNG or WebP, and how to keep SVG files small.
What Is Code Minification and Why It Matters for Web Performance
Minification removes whitespace, comments, and redundant code to reduce file size. Learn how CSS and JavaScript minification work, how much size they save, and what tools to use.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between XML and HTML?▾
Both use tags, but XML is a data format with no predefined tags — you define your own. HTML has fixed tags (div, p, a…) for rendering web pages. XML is strict: all tags must be closed, attributes must be quoted, and nesting must be correct. HTML parsers are lenient and recover from errors; XML parsers are not.
What makes an XML document 'well-formed'?▾
A well-formed XML document must have exactly one root element, all elements must be properly nested (no overlapping tags), all tags must be closed (or self-closed with />), attribute values must be quoted, and special characters like <, >, & must be escaped as <, >, &.
What is the difference between well-formed and valid XML?▾
Well-formed means the XML follows basic syntax rules. Valid means it also conforms to a schema (DTD or XSD) that defines which elements and attributes are allowed and in what order. This tool checks well-formedness — schema validation requires a DTD or XSD file.
When should I use XML vs JSON?▾
JSON is simpler and dominant for REST APIs and web apps. XML is preferred when you need comments, mixed content (text + markup), namespaces, or when integrating with legacy enterprise systems (SOAP, RSS, XSLT, Office formats). XML also supports schemas (XSD) for strict contract enforcement.