meta

Summary

The <meta> element embeds various kinds of metadata that cannot be expressed using the title, base, link, style, and script elements.

Overview Table

DOM Interface: HTMLMetaElement

Attributes

name = string
Sets document metadata.
- application-name
  Giving the name of the Web application that the page represents.
- author
  Giving the name of one of the page’s authors.
- description
  Describes the page. [Example A]
- generator
  Identifies one of the software packages used to generate the document.
- keywords
  Giving the keyword relevant to the page. [Example A]

Other metadata names may be registered in the WHATWG Wiki MetaExtensions page.

http-equiv = string
When the http-equiv attribute is specified on a meta element, the element is a pragma directive.
- content-language
  Sets the pragma-set default language.
- content-type
  Alternative form of setting the charset attribute
- default-style
  Sets the name of the default alternative style sheet set.
- refresh
  Acts as timed redirect. [Example B]
content = string
Gives the value of the document metadata or pragma directive when the element is used for those purposes.
charset = character encoding name
Specifies the character encoding used by the document. [Example A]

Internationalization

Examples

A minimal HTML document with meta information.

<html>
<head>
  <title>World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)</title>
  <meta charset=utf-8" />
  <meta name="description"
        content="The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international community
        where Member organizations, a full-time staff,
        and the public work together to develop Web standards." />
  <meta name="keyword" content="W3C, HTML, CSS, SVG, Web standards" />
</head>
<body></body>
</html>

Notes

Remarks

The META element also embeds document information that some search engines use to index and categorize documents on the World Wide Web. This element can be used only within the HEAD element. Windows Internet Explorer 8 or later. The behavior of the setAttribute method depends on the current document compatibility mode. For more information, see Attribute Differences in Internet Explorer 8

Related specifications

HTML 5.1: W3C Working Draft
HTML 5: W3C Recommendation
HTML 4.01: W3C Recommendation

Attributions

Microsoft Developer Network: [Windows Internet Explorer API reference Article]