HTML Head and Metadata

The head element stores document metadata: character encoding, viewport, page title, description, stylesheets, and site icons. None of that is the visible page.

The head element describes the document. Character encoding, viewport, unique title, description, stylesheets, and site icons live here. None of that is the visible page; body still holds headings, paragraphs, and controls.

Declare encoding, viewport, and a unique title

Put charset near the start of head so the browser can decode the rest of the file. The viewport declaration tells mobile browsers to use the device width as a baseline; it does not by itself make wide tables or images wrap. The title appears in tabs, history, and bookmarks, so it should distinguish this page from others on the same site.

<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <meta name="description" content="Times and preparation for the neighborhood HTML workshop.">
  <title>Schedule — Neighborhood Workshop</title>
</head>

• Declare UTF-8 early in head.
• Include the standard viewport declaration.
• Write a page-specific title.
• Summarize this page in the description.
• Link stylesheets and icons from head, not from body.

Useful meta tags, used sparingly

charset and viewport are foundational. description can inform search snippets. robots and social preview tags are optional until the page is meant to be indexed or shared. Do not invent a meta keyword list; modern search engines do not treat it as a ranking signal.