<meta>
Document info
Carries information about the document — charset, description, viewport.
| How to write it | <meta> |
|---|---|
| Closing tag | — |
| Void element | Yes — no closing tag |
| Common attributes | charset, name, content |
| Category | Document info |
How to read this
- Most tags come in pairs, opening and closing. Only tags with no content — img, br — are left unclosed.
- Writing </br> for a void element does nothing useful; the browser ignores it or adds an empty line.
- Appearance is CSS’s job. A tag says what something is; bold or italic is only the consequence.
- Choosing the tag that matches the meaning helps search engines and screen readers alike. Wrapping everything in div throws that information away.
Frequently asked questions
Q. What is the HTML <meta> tag?
Carries information about the document — charset, description, viewport.
Q. How do you write <meta>?
As <meta>. It has no content, so there is no closing tag.
Q. Which attributes are common on <meta>?
charset, name, content are the usual ones.
Q. What group does <meta> belong to?
The document info group.