| Specifies information about the document for use by browsers and search engines. | HTML 2, 3.2, 4, 4.01, 5 |
HTML Syntax
<meta
charset = character-encoding
content = description
http-equiv = response
media = mime-type
name = text
>
NOTE: Only the <meta> start tag must be present. The element has no end tag.
The <meta> element is used to convey information about the document important to Web browsers and search indexing engines. The element has no effect on the appearance of the Web page.
This element can only be used within the <head> element.
meta information is usually first classified by its name, which specifies what kind of information the meta element supplies, followed by the meta content itself.
For example, a meta element can be used to provide a brief description of the page, or list the important concepts or keywords in the page.
<meta name="description"
content="HTML elements reference.">
<meta name="keywords"
content="HTML, elements, tags, attributes">
The meta http-equiv attribute creates an HTTP response header that can convey information to the browser about what to do with the file.
In the following example, the meta element is used to tell the browser how often to refresh the page, which is every 10 seconds.
<meta http-equiv="Refresh" content="10">
This is useful for pages that display information that need to update automatically at a specified interval, like stock prices or late-breaking news.
HEAD HTML