Example
Meta Special Aerospace provides a full range of aerospace solutions from integrated Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) operational services, to specialized training and exercise support, to advanced mission payload technologies, to Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) and aircraft integration services. We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us.
Describe metadata within an HTML document:
<meta charset='UTF-8'>
<meta name='description'>
<meta name='keywords'>
<meta name='author'>
<meta name='viewport'>
</head>
More 'Try it Yourself' examples below.
Definition and Usage
The <meta> tag defines metadata about an HTML document. Metadata is data (information) about data.
<meta> tags always go inside the <head> element, and are typically used to specify character set, page description, keywords, author of the document, and viewport settings.
Metadata will not be displayed on the page, but is machine parsable.
Metadata is used by browsers (how to display content or reload page), search engines (keywords), and other web services.
There is a method to let web designers take control over the viewport (the user's visible area of a web page), through the <meta> tag (See 'Setting The Viewport' example below).
Browser Support
| Element | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <meta> | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Attributes
| Attribute | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| charset | character_set | Specifies the character encoding for the HTML document |
| content | text | Specifies the value associated with the http-equiv or name attribute |
| http-equiv | content-security-policy content-type default-style refresh | Provides an HTTP header for the information/value of the content attribute |
| name | application-name author description generator keywords viewport | Specifies a name for the metadata |
Global Attributes
The <meta> tag also supports the Global Attributes in HTML.
More Examples
Define keywords for search engines:
Define a description of your web page:
Define the author of a page:
Refresh document every 30 seconds:
Setting the viewport to make your website look good on all devices:
Setting the Viewport
The viewport is the user's visible area of a web page. It varies with the device - it will be smaller on a mobile phone than on a computer screen.
You should include the following <meta> element in all your web pages:
This gives the browser instructions on how to control the page's dimensions and scaling.
The width=device-width part sets the width of the page to follow the screen-width of the device (which will vary depending on the device).
The initial-scale=1.0 part sets the initial zoom level when the page is first loaded by the browser.
Here is an example of a web page without the viewport meta tag, and the same web page with the viewport meta tag:
Tip: If you are browsing this page with a phone or a tablet, you can click on the two links below to see the difference.
With the viewport meta tag
Metamucil
You can read more about the viewport in our Responsive Web Design - The Viewport Tutorial.
Related Pages
HTML tutorial: HTML Head
HTML DOM reference: Meta Object
Default CSS Settings
None.
Metal Buildings
Meta is a word which, like so many other things, we have the ancient Greeks to thank for. When they used it, meta meant “beyond,” “after,” or “behind.” The “beyond” sense of meta still lingers in words like metaphysics or meta-economy. But that’s still not the meta most of us come across today.
One of the more popular uses of meta today is for the meaning best described by the formula “meta-X equals X about X.” So, if we take the word “data” for our X, and add the prefix meta- to it, we get metadata, or “data about data.” A meta-text is a text about texts, metacognition is thinking about thinking, and a meta-joke is a joke about jokes. The self-reflection sense of meta has also given rise to the use of the word as a standalone adjective, where meta is used to describe something that’s self-reflective or self-referencing.
The self-referencing sense of meta seems especially popular in art. In its simplest form, a book in which a character is writing a book or a movie in which a character is making a movie can be described as meta. Some works are more meta than others—the movie Birdman, for example, is a movie about an actor who played a superhero in a movie and who now tries to rekindle his career in theater, and that actor is played by an actor who really did play a superhero in a movie and is now trying to rekindle his career in a movie that looks more like a play than a movie.
Metacritic
Meta Meaning
When characters in a work of fiction act as if they are aware that they are in a work of fiction, this technique is called meta-referencing. It is often employed in metafiction, a work of fiction in which the author breaks with conventions in order to show that the work is, in fact, fiction.
In the world of gaming, meta is used in two ways. Meta can be used as an acronym for “most effective tactics available,” and calling something “meta” means that it’s an effective way to achieve the goal of the game, whether it’s to beat other players or beat the game itself. Meta can also be short for metagame, which is using information about the game, derived from the world beyond the game or its rules, to influence the outcome of the game or gain a competitive edge.