The Issue:
You’re compiling HTML (4 or 5) code and think everything is fine and dandy — until you upload the code and suddenly see weird characters like “” in the browser. What happened?
The Explanation:
This typically occurs when copying from Microsoft Word to an editor like Dreamweaver. (A more thorough explanation can be found here: How do I remove  from the beginning of a file?)
The Solution:
This is the typical sequence we follow when copying and pasting from Word:
Step 1:
Download Textwrangler or download Notepad++ for PC
Step 2:
Create all of your code (HTML, PHP, etc.)
Step 3:
Copy all of the code (CMD + A or CTRL + A) then (CMD + C or CTRL + C)
in TextWrangler:
Step 4:
Paste all of your code into Textwrangler (CMD + V)
Step 5:
Select all of your code (CMD + A)
Step 6:
Click “Text” at the top
Step 7:
Click “Zap Gremlins…”
Step 8:
The normal options pop up; just click “Zap”
Step 9 (for good measure):
Click “Text” again and click “Straighten Quotes”
Step 10:
Copy all of your code again (CMD + C)
Step 11:
Paste code back into editor (CMD + V). FINISHED!
in Notepad++:
Step 4:
Paste all of your code into Textwrangler (CTRL + V)
Step 5:
Select all of your code (CTRL + A)
Step 6:
Click “Encoding” at the top
Step 7:
Click “Convert to UTF-8 without BOM”
Step 8:
Copy all of your code again (CTRL + C)
Step 9:
Paste code back into editor (CTRL + V). FINISHED!
