Contents
HTML meta: Main Tips
- With
meta
tags, HTML metadata can be defined. - In Greek, meta means beyond. Thus, metadata is not displayed on the web page: it is only parsable by the machine.
- Using the
meta
tag, keywords, descriptions, and other information can be specified for the page. - HTML
meta
tags must be placed inside the <head> element. - You can use one or multiple
meta
tags in one document.
Using HTML meta Tags
The content between HTML meta
tags is supplementary information about a website which is not displayed in the page:
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="description" content="Learn to code!">
<meta name="keywords" content="HTML, PHP, JavaScript">
<meta name="author" content="The BitDegree Team">
</head>
Metadata is useful in search engine optimization (SEO). Search engines use meta keywords to gather information about the content your website offers its users.
Note: you can also set the viewport using your meta tags to control the visible page areas. However, not every browser supports that.

- Easy to use with a learn-by-doing approach
- Offers quality content
- Gamified in-browser coding experience
- The price matches the quality
- Suitable for learners ranging from beginner to advanced
- Free certificates of completion
- Focused on data science skills
- Flexible learning timetable

- Simplistic design (no unnecessary information)
- High-quality courses (even the free ones)
- Variety of features
- Nanodegree programs
- Suitable for enterprises
- Paid Certificates of completion

- A wide range of learning programs
- University-level courses
- Easy to navigate
- Verified certificates
- Free learning track available
- University-level courses
- Suitable for enterprises
- Verified certificates of completion
Tag-specific Attributes for <meta>
charset
sets the character encoding for the webpage:
<meta charset="UTF-8">
Tip: defining character encoding helps prevent cross-scripting attacks. You should use UTF-8 or another ASCII-compatible encoding.
name
sets a name for the metadata (e.g., meta keywords
, author
, etc.):
<meta name="description" content="Learn to code">
http-equiv
defines a pragma directive. All the possible values have the same names as certain HTTP headers (i.e., content-security-policy
or refresh
), hence the name:
<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="30">
content
defines the value for the name
or http-equiv
attribute:
<meta name="description" content="Learn to code">
<meta name="keywords" content="HTML, HTML Meta Tag">
scheme
used to set the context in which the value of the content
attribute should have been interpreted (a format):
<meta name="date" content="2019-08-04" scheme="YYYY-MM-DD">
Note: the scheme attribute has been made obsolete in HTML5.
Browser support

Chrome

Edge

Firefox

IE

Opera

Safari
Mobile browser support

Chrome

Firefox

Opera
