Syntax
<meta name="description" content="Page description">Examples
Essential Meta Tags
The meta tags almost every page should include.
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<meta name="description" content="Learn web development with Codectionary.">Social Media Preview (Open Graph)
Meta tags that control how a link looks when shared on social media.
<meta property="og:title" content="Codectionary - Learn to Code">
<meta property="og:description" content="An interactive platform for learning web development.">
<meta property="og:image" content="https://codectionary.com/preview.png">SEO and Robots
Controlling how search engines index the page.
<meta name="robots" content="index, follow">
<meta name="keywords" content="html, css, javascript, learn to code">Attributes
- charset (string): Declares the document's character encoding, typically UTF-8
- name (string): Identifies the type of metadata, e.g. viewport, description, author
- content (string): The value associated with the name or property attribute
- property (string): Used for Open Graph metadata (og:title, og:image, etc.)
Best practices
- Always include charset and viewport meta tags as early as possible in <head>
- Write a unique, concise description for each page (roughly 150-160 characters) to improve search engine snippets
- Add Open Graph meta tags so links look good when shared on social platforms
- Do not overload the description with keywords — write for humans first
Browser compatibility
Support applies to the named feature, not every attribute or behaviour in this article. Versions refer to browsers, not operating systems.
Crawler and social-platform interpretation is not browser compatibility; those behaviours remain unknown here.
<meta>
Desktop
- Chrome
- Supported
From 1 - Firefox
- Supported
From 1 - Safari
- Supported
From 1 - Edge
- Supported
From 12 - Opera
- Supported
By 12.1 (possibly earlier)
Mobile
- Safari on iOS
- Supported
From 1 - Chrome for Android
- Supported
From 18 - Firefox for Android
- Supported
From 4 - Samsung Internet
- Supported
From 1.0
MDN BCD record for this feature · MDN reference
Support history and limitations
Chrome
- From 1
Firefox
- From 1
Safari
- From 1
Edge
- From 12
Opera
- By 12.1 (possibly earlier)
Safari on iOS
- From 1
Chrome for Android
- From 18
Firefox for Android
- From 4
Samsung Internet
- From 1.0
<meta> charset
Desktop
- Chrome
- Supported
From 1 - Firefox
- Supported
From 1 - Safari
- Supported
From 3 - Edge
- Supported
From 12 - Opera
- Supported
From 15
Mobile
- Safari on iOS
- Supported
From 2 - Chrome for Android
- Supported
From 18 - Firefox for Android
- Supported
From 4 - Samsung Internet
- Supported
From 1.0
MDN BCD record for this feature
Support history and limitations
Chrome
- From 1
Firefox
- From 1
Safari
- From 3
Edge
- From 12
Opera
- From 15
Safari on iOS
- From 2
Chrome for Android
- From 18
Firefox for Android
- From 4
Samsung Internet
- From 1.0
<meta> name
Desktop
- Chrome
- Supported
From 1 - Firefox
- Supported
From 1 - Safari
- Supported
By 4 (possibly earlier) - Edge
- Supported
From 12 - Opera
- Supported
By 12.1 (possibly earlier)
Mobile
- Safari on iOS
- Supported
By 3.2 (possibly earlier) - Chrome for Android
- Supported
From 18 - Firefox for Android
- Supported
From 4 - Samsung Internet
- Supported
From 1.0
MDN BCD record for this feature · MDN reference
Support history and limitations
Chrome
- From 1
Firefox
- From 1
Safari
- By 4 (possibly earlier)
Edge
- From 12
Opera
- By 12.1 (possibly earlier)
Safari on iOS
- By 3.2 (possibly earlier)
Chrome for Android
- From 18
Firefox for Android
- From 4
Samsung Internet
- From 1.0
<meta> content
Desktop
- Chrome
- Supported
From 1 - Firefox
- Supported
From 1 - Safari
- Supported
By 4 (possibly earlier) - Edge
- Supported
From 12 - Opera
- Supported
By 12.1 (possibly earlier)
Mobile
- Safari on iOS
- Supported
By 3.2 (possibly earlier) - Chrome for Android
- Supported
From 18 - Firefox for Android
- Supported
From 4 - Samsung Internet
- Supported
From 1.0
MDN BCD record for this feature · MDN reference
Support history and limitations
Chrome
- From 1
Firefox
- From 1
Safari
- By 4 (possibly earlier)
Edge
- From 12
Opera
- By 12.1 (possibly earlier)
Safari on iOS
- By 3.2 (possibly earlier)
Chrome for Android
- From 18
Firefox for Android
- From 4
Samsung Internet
- From 1.0
meta — property attribute
Desktop
- Chrome
- Unknown
- Firefox
- Unknown
- Safari
- Unknown
- Edge
- Unknown
- Opera
- Unknown
Mobile
- Safari on iOS
- Unknown
- Chrome for Android
- Unknown
- Firefox for Android
- Unknown
- Samsung Internet
- Unknown
No single verified compatibility record for this topic. Use the feature-specific articles; no browser support is inferred.
<meta> name · viewport
Desktop
- Chrome
- Not supported
- Firefox
- Not supported
- Safari
- Not supported
- Edge
- Not supported
- Opera
- Not supported
Mobile
- Safari on iOS
- Supported
From 3 - Chrome for Android
- Supported
From 18 - Firefox for Android
- Supported
From 4 - Samsung Internet
- Supported
From 1.0
MDN BCD record for this feature · MDN reference
Support history and limitations
Chrome
- Not supported
Firefox
- Not supported
Safari
- Not supported
Edge
- Not supported
Opera
- Not supported
Safari on iOS
- From 3
Chrome for Android
- From 18
Firefox for Android
- From 4
Samsung Internet
- From 1.0
Open Graph and search-engine interpretation
Desktop
- Chrome
- Unknown
- Firefox
- Unknown
- Safari
- Unknown
- Edge
- Unknown
- Opera
- Unknown
Mobile
- Safari on iOS
- Unknown
- Chrome for Android
- Unknown
- Firefox for Android
- Unknown
- Samsung Internet
- Unknown
No single verified compatibility record for this topic. Use the feature-specific articles; no browser support is inferred.
MDN BCD 8.1.5 · Dataset built 2026-10-08 · Mapping reviewed 2026-10-21. These dates are not individual browser-test or claim-verification dates. Unknown means the data does not establish support.