Published: 30 May
2025
5-min read
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
HTML meta tags are special elements placed in the head section of a webpage that provide metadata about the page's content, behavior, and structure. They play a critical role in SEO, social media sharing, browser compatibility, and search engine indexing. This page offers a comprehensive list of all HTML meta tags, along with explanations and usage examples, to help developers optimize their websites effectively.
The broad categories of HTML meta tags are
- HTML Name meta Tags
- HTML HTTP-Equiv meta Tags
- HTML twitter meta tags
- HTML SEO meta Tags
- HTML OpenGraph Tags
- HTML Apple-Specific Meta Tags
- HTML Internet Explorer Meta Tags
HTML Name meta Tags
| Meta Name | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
application-name |
Specifies the name of the web application. | <meta name="application-name" content="MyApp"> |
author |
Defines the author of the document. | <meta name="author" content="John Doe"> |
description |
Provides a brief description of the page's content, often used by search engines. | <meta name="description" content="A guide to HTML meta tags">
|
keywords |
Specifies a list of keywords relevant to the page's content. Note: Largely ignored by modern search engines. | <meta name="keywords" content="HTML, meta, SEO"> |
viewport |
Controls the page's dimensions and scaling on mobile devices. | <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
|
robots |
Instructs search engines on how to index and follow links on the page. | <meta name="robots" content="index, follow"> |
generator |
Specifies the software used to generate the page. | <meta name="generator" content="WordPress 5.8"> |
theme-color |
Sets the browser's toolbar color on mobile devices. | <meta name="theme-color" content="#ffffff"> |
format-detection |
Instructs browsers not to detect and format telephone numbers automatically. | <meta name="format-detection" content="telephone=no"> |
referrer |
Controls the amount of referrer information sent along with requests. | <meta name="referrer" content="no-referrer"> |
subject |
Defines the subject of the document. | <meta name="subject" content="Web Development"> |
language |
Specifies the language of the document's content. | <meta name="language" content="en"> |
rating |
Indicates the content rating of the page (e.g., General, Mature). | <meta name="rating" content="General"> |
distribution |
Specifies the distribution of the content (e.g., Global, Local). | <meta name="distribution" content="Global"> |
revisit-after |
Suggests how often search engines should revisit the page. | <meta name="revisit-after" content="7 days"> |
copyright |
Provides copyright information for the content. | <meta name="copyright" content="Company Name"> |
reply-to |
Specifies an email address for user feedback. | <meta name="reply-to" content="email@example.com"> |
owner |
Identifies the owner of the document. | <meta name="owner" content="Company Name"> |
url |
Specifies the URL of the document. | <meta name="url" content="https://www.example.com"> |
identifier-URL |
Provides a unique identifier URL for the document. | <meta name="identifier-URL" content="https://www.example.com/page">
|
directory |
Specifies the directory for submission. | <meta name="directory" content="submission"> |
category |
Defines the category of the content. | <meta name="category" content="Technology"> |
coverage |
Indicates the coverage of the content (e.g., Worldwide, USA). | <meta name="coverage" content="Worldwide"> |
distribution |
Specifies the distribution of the content. | <meta name="distribution" content="Global"> |
rating |
Indicates the content rating of the page. | <meta name="rating" content="General"> |
revisit-after |
Suggests how often search engines should revisit the page. | <meta name="revisit-after" content="7 days"> |
csrf-param |
Used in web frameworks to specify the CSRF parameter name. | <meta name="csrf-param" content="authenticity_token"> |
csrf-token |
Used in web frameworks to specify the CSRF token value. | <meta name="csrf-token" content="random_token_value"> |
google-site-verification |
Used to verify site ownership with Google Search Console. | <meta name="google-site-verification" content="verification_token">
|
msvalidate.01 |
Used to verify site ownership with Bing Webmaster Tools. | <meta name="msvalidate.01" content="verification_token"> |
yandex-verification |
Used to verify site ownership with Yandex Webmaster Tools. | <meta name="yandex-verification" content="verification_token">
|
twitter:card |
Specifies the card type for Twitter cards. | <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image"> |
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HTML HTTP-Equiv meta Tags
| HTTP-Equiv | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
content-type |
Defines MIME type and character encoding. | <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
|
default-style |
Specifies the preferred style sheet. | <meta http-equiv="Default-Style" content="Light"> |
refresh |
Refreshes the page after a time or redirects. | <meta http-equiv="Refresh" content="5; URL=https://example.com">
|
x-ua-compatible |
Specifies which IE version to render the page. | <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge"> |
cache-control |
Sets caching behavior. | <meta http-equiv="Cache-Control" content="no-cache"> |
pragma |
Obsolete. Similar to cache-control for no-cache. | <meta http-equiv="Pragma" content="no-cache"> |
expires |
Specifies expiration date/time for content. | <meta http-equiv="Expires" content="Wed, 21 Oct 2025 07:28:00 GMT">
|
set-cookie |
Defines a cookie for the document (rarely used). | <meta http-equiv="Set-Cookie" content="name=value; expires=Wed, 21 Oct 2025 07:28:00 GMT">
|
content-security-policy |
Specifies Content Security Policy for page resources. | <meta http-equiv="Content-Security-Policy" content="default-src 'self'">
|
permissions-policy |
Specifies permissions for browser features. | <meta http-equiv="Permissions-Policy" content="geolocation=(), microphone=()">
|
x-frame-options |
Controls embedding in frames/iframes (clickjacking protection). | <meta http-equiv="X-Frame-Options" content="deny"> |
strict-transport-security |
Enforces HTTPS usage. | <meta http-equiv="Strict-Transport-Security" content="max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains">
|
referrer-policy |
Controls what referrer information is sent. | <meta http-equiv="Referrer-Policy" content="no-referrer">
|
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HTML twitter meta tags
| Meta Tag | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
twitter:card |
Type of card (summary, summary_large_image, app, player). | <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary"> |
twitter:site |
Twitter handle of the website. | <meta name="twitter:site" content="@site"> |
twitter:creator |
Twitter handle of the content creator. | <meta name="twitter:creator" content="@creator"> |
twitter:title |
Title of the page (max 70 chars). | <meta name="twitter:title" content="Title Here"> |
twitter:description |
Page description (max 200 chars). | <meta name="twitter:description" content="Description Here">
|
twitter:image |
URL to image for the card. | <meta name="twitter:image" content="https://example.com/image.jpg">
|
twitter:image:alt |
Alt text for the image (for accessibility). | <meta name="twitter:image:alt" content="Alt Text"> |
twitter:player |
URL to embeddable player (for video/audio). | <meta name="twitter:player" content="https://example.com/player.html">
|
twitter:player:width |
Width of the embedded player (px). | <meta name="twitter:player:width" content="640"> |
twitter:player:height |
Height of the embedded player (px). | <meta name="twitter:player:height" content="360"> |
twitter:app:name:iphone |
Name of the iPhone app. | <meta name="twitter:app:name:iphone" content="AppName"> |
twitter:app:id:iphone |
iOS App Store ID of the app. | <meta name="twitter:app:id:iphone" content="123456789"> |
twitter:app:url:iphone |
Custom URL scheme for the iPhone app. | <meta name="twitter:app:url:iphone" content="app://path">
|
twitter:app:name:ipad |
Name of the iPad app. | <meta name="twitter:app:name:ipad" content="AppName"> |
twitter:app:id:ipad |
iOS App Store ID of the iPad app. | <meta name="twitter:app:id:ipad" content="123456789"> |
twitter:app:url:ipad |
Custom URL scheme for the iPad app. | <meta name="twitter:app:url:ipad" content="app://path"> |
twitter:app:name:googleplay |
Name of the Android app. | <meta name="twitter:app:name:googleplay" content="AppName">
|
twitter:app:id:googleplay |
Google Play ID of the Android app. | <meta name="twitter:app:id:googleplay" content="com.example.app">
|
twitter:app:url:googleplay |
Custom URL scheme for the Android app. | <meta name="twitter:app:url:googleplay" content="android-app://path">
|
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HTML SEO meta Tags
| Directive | Description | Supported by |
|---|---|---|
index |
Allows the page to be indexed by search engines. (Default behavior) | All |
noindex |
Prevents the page from appearing in search results. | All |
follow |
Allows search engines to follow links on the page. (Default behavior) | All |
nofollow |
Prevents search engines from following any links on the page. | All |
all |
Same as index, follow; allows indexing and following links. |
|
none |
Same as noindex, nofollow; prevents indexing and following links.
|
|
noarchive |
Prevents search engines from storing a cached version of the page. | Google, Yahoo, Bing |
nosnippet |
Prevents search engines from showing a description or snippet in results. | Google, Bing |
noimageindex |
Prevents images from the page being included in image search results. | |
nocache |
Same as noarchive; disables cached copies in search results. |
Bing |
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Most Used HTML OpenGraph Tags
| Meta Tag | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
og:title |
The title of the page when shared. | <meta property="og:title" content="My Awesome Page"> |
og:description |
A short description of the page. | <meta property="og:description" content="Learn web development"> |
og:type |
The type of content (e.g., website, article, video). | <meta property="og:type" content="website"> |
og:url |
The canonical URL of the page. | <meta property="og:url" content="https://example.com/page"> |
og:image |
URL of the image to display in previews. | <meta property="og:image" content="https://example.com/image.jpg"> |
og:image:secure_url |
Secure (HTTPS) version of the image URL. | <meta property="og:image:secure_url" content="https://...jpg"> |
og:image:type |
MIME type of the image (e.g., image/jpeg). | <meta property="og:image:type" content="image/jpeg"> |
og:image:width |
Width of the image in pixels. | <meta property="og:image:width" content="1200"> |
og:image:height |
Height of the image in pixels. | <meta property="og:image:height" content="630"> |
og:site_name |
Name of the website. | <meta property="og:site_name" content="ExampleSite"> |
og:locale |
Locale of the page (e.g., en_US, fr_FR). | <meta property="og:locale" content="en_US"> |
og:locale:alternate |
Alternative locale(s) for the page. | <meta property="og:locale:alternate" content="fr_FR"> |
og:video |
URL of a video for the page. | <meta property="og:video" content="https://example.com/video.mp4"> |
og:video:secure_url |
Secure (HTTPS) version of the video URL. | <meta property="og:video:secure_url" content="https://...mp4"> |
og:video:type |
MIME type of the video (e.g., video/mp4). | <meta property="og:video:type" content="video/mp4"> |
og:video:width |
Width of the video in pixels. | <meta property="og:video:width" content="1280"> |
og:video:height |
Height of the video in pixels. | <meta property="og:video:height" content="720"> |
og:audio |
URL of an audio file for the page. | <meta property="og:audio" content="https://example.com/audio.mp3"> |
og:audio:secure_url |
Secure (HTTPS) version of the audio URL. | <meta property="og:audio:secure_url" content="https://...mp3"> |
og:audio:type |
MIME type of the audio (e.g., audio/mpeg). | <meta property="og:audio:type" content="audio/mpeg"> |
og:determiner |
Optional word placed before the title (e.g., "the", "a"). | <meta property="og:determiner" content="the"> |
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HTML Apple-Specific Meta Tags
| Meta Tag | Purpose | Example |
|---|---|---|
apple-mobile-web-app-capable |
Enables standalone (full-screen) mode for web apps on iOS. | <meta name="apple-mobile-web-app-capable" content="yes"> |
apple-mobile-web-app-status-bar-style |
Sets the status bar appearance in standalone mode. Options:
default, black, black-translucent.
|
<meta name="apple-mobile-web-app-status-bar-style" content="black-translucent"> |
apple-mobile-web-app-title |
Specifies the title of the web app when added to the home screen. | <meta name="apple-mobile-web-app-title" content="MyApp"> |
apple-touch-icon |
Defines the icon for the web app on the home screen. | <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="icon.png"> |
apple-touch-startup-image |
Specifies the launch image for the web app. | <link rel="apple-touch-startup-image" href="startup.png"> |
apple-itunes-app |
Promotes an app with a Smart App Banner. | <meta name="apple-itunes-app" content="app-id=123456789"> |
viewport |
Controls the viewport's size and scale on iOS devices. | <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"> |
theme-color |
Sets the browser's theme color. | <meta name="theme-color" content="#ffffff"> |
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Internet Explorer Meta Tags
| Meta Tag | Purpose | Example |
|---|---|---|
X-UA-Compatible |
Specifies the document mode for IE, ensuring the page is rendered using the specified version's standards mode. | <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge"> |
cleartype |
Enables ClearType font smoothing for better text rendering in IE. | <meta http-equiv="cleartype" content="on"> |
imagetoolbar |
Disables the image toolbar that appears when hovering over images in IE6. | <meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no"> |
mssmarttagspreventparsing |
Prevents IE from recognizing and acting upon Smart Tags. | <meta name="mssmarttagspreventparsing" content="true"> |
Page-Enter / Page-Exit |
Adds transition effects when entering or exiting a page in IE. | <meta http-equiv="Page-Enter" content="RevealTrans(Duration=2.0,Transition=2)"> |
msapplication-starturl |
Specifies the start URL when the site is pinned in Windows. | <meta name="msapplication-starturl" content="http://example.com/"> |
msapplication-window |
Defines the size of the window when the site is pinned. | <meta name="msapplication-window" content="width=800;height=600"> |
msapplication-navbutton-color |
Sets the color of navigation buttons in pinned sites. | <meta name="msapplication-navbutton-color" content="#FF0000"> |
msapplication-tooltip |
Provides tooltip text for the pinned site. | <meta name="msapplication-tooltip" content="Visit our homepage"> |
msapplication-task |
Adds tasks to the jump list for the pinned site. | <meta name="msapplication-task" content="name=Home;action-uri=/home;icon-uri=/images/home.ico"> |
msapplication-TileColor |
Sets the background color of the tile when the site is pinned in Windows 8/10. | <meta name="msapplication-TileColor" content="#FFFFFF"> |
msapplication-TileImage |
Specifies the image used for the tile when the site is pinned. | <meta name="msapplication-TileImage" content="/images/tile.png"> |
msapplication-notification |
Configures push notifications for the site. | <meta name="msapplication-notification" content="frequency=30;polling-uri=http://example.com/notifications.xml"> |
msvalidate.01 |
Used for site ownership verification with Bing Webmaster Tools. | <meta name="msvalidate.01" content="1234567890ABCDEF"> |
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