diff --git a/webssh/settings.py b/webssh/settings.py
index b02b79e..dc0853d 100644
--- a/webssh/settings.py
+++ b/webssh/settings.py
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ define('delay', type=float, default=3, help='The delay to call recycle_worker')
 define('maxconn', type=int, default=20,
        help='Maximum live connections (ssh sessions) per client')
 define('font', default='', help='custom font filename')
-define('encoding', default='',
+define('encoding', default='utf-8',
        help='''The default character encoding of ssh servers.
 Example: --encoding='utf-8' to solve the problem with some switches&routers''')
 define('version', type=bool, help='Show version information',