HTML Tutorial for Beginners - 20 - The Meta Element

In this video, we'll explore the "meta" element in HTML, but let's break it down in simpler terms.

Think of HTML as the language that websites use to tell web browsers how to display their content. The "meta" element is like a hidden helper that provides extra information about the webpage to the browser, but it doesn't show up on the actual webpage.

Here's what the "meta" element does in easy words:

Character Encoding: One important thing it does is to specify the character encoding of the webpage. Character encoding tells the browser how to display special characters like accented letters or symbols. It ensures that text displays correctly.

Viewport Settings: It can also help with how the webpage appears on different devices. For example, it can set the viewport width, which affects how the webpage fits on a mobile phone or a desktop computer.

Page Description: It can include a short description of the webpage, which search engines might use when displaying search results. This can help users understand what the webpage is about.

Keywords: In the past, it was used to include keywords related to the webpage's content. Search engines would use these keywords to understand what the page was about, but this is less important today.

So, in a nutshell, the "meta" element is like a behind-the-scenes assistant for web browsers and search engines, providing essential information about the webpage's content, how it should be displayed, and how it should be described in search results.