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META TAGS

"Meta" is Latin. It means "with". In this case, Meta tags are "with" HTML tags. Basically, theyre tags that came after normal HTML that allow you to do some pretty special stuff. Among other things, Meta tags can help you automatically update your web pages, make them findable by search engines, and stop them from being stuck in frames by another website.

There are two types of Meta tags, HTTP-EQUIV tags, which perform a function usually reserved for your browser, and named Meta tags, which mostly help search engines find your pages.

Meta Tags go in the <head>

All of your Meta tags are placed in the head of your website.

HTTP-EQUIV Tags

HTTP stands for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol. "Hyper-Text" is the same hyper-text in HTML. Protocol means rules. So, "Hyper Text Transfer Protocol" refers to the set of rules and actions that browsers and servers follow when transferring text and communicating with each other. When a website is requested, the server sends the HTML preceded by a group of instructions to help the browser display the web page correctly.

HTTP-EQUIV Meta tags mimic those preceding instructions, and allow for the same sort of actions.

Useful HTTP-EQUIV Meta Tags:

Refresh

When a user hits the Refresh/Reload button on their browser, the page reloads itself from the server. Any changes that have occurred will be displayed. You can have your browser automatically refresh itself after a certain number of seconds using the following meta tag. An automatic refresh can be useful if you have data that changes often, like sports scores, news, or stock prices.

In the above tag, "3" denotes the number of seconds the browser will wait before refreshing.

You can also have the page automatically jump to another page after a certain number of seconds. This works well for slideshows and introduction jump pages.

The above tag will automatically jump to "some_page.htm" after three seconds. Note that it wont jump until three seconds after the whole page is loaded. The page usually continues loading after everything is displayed. If you want the page to jump after 3 seconds, I would set the jump time to 1 or 2.

No-Cache

Sometimes you will build a page with the sole purpose of automatically rerouting visitors to another page. Rerouting pages can check for plug-ins, or discover the users screen resolution before determining. After a rerouting page ascertains the information it needs, it routes users to a page specifically designed for them.

There is a problem that can arise from using re-direct pages, though. Lets say that users keyed in to a page that they thought was your website, but was actually a clever redirect intended to check for a flash plug-in. The Redirect automatically seds them to a second page. While on the second page, if the viewer tries to click "Back" on their browser, they will be sent back to the re-direct page, which will automatically send them back to the second page. Theyll be stuck in an evil endless loop, and theyll hate your website. Using both of the following Meta tags on your re-direct page will ensure that your re-direct page is not stored in the browsers cache memory. The browser will simply forget that its ever seen the page.

Both tags are required to ensure that the page is not cached in either browser. Sadly, older versions of Internet Explorer may ignore these tags and cache the site anyway. That's why web design course doesn't keep you in a loop!

Frame Buster!

The following tag will keep your pages from being loaded into someone elses frameset.

Named Meta Tags

There are Meta tags that operate outside of the normal HTTP instruction. These extra Meta tags are called "named" tags, and as you might guess, each one has a unique name.

Named Meta tags are primarily used to help search engines find relevant pages, and are therefore very important. In the Design Concepts section, we will spend a good amount of time learning how to make our pages findable on the web. Knowing about named Meta Tags is a good first step.

Making Your Page Findable with Keywords

Search engines use keywords to help index pages in correct categories. You can stipulate those keywords using Meta tags. Basically, your keywords are words and phrases that you might imagine a user typing in when searching for your site or a site like yours.

<meta name="keywords" content="web site design school, school web design, school for web design, web design tutorial, web design training, web page design training">

Different search engines allow for a different number of keywords. You should keep your number under twenty.

Enticing Users to Click with a Good Description

When you search for a site on the web, you get a number of search engine returns. Often, each return is followed by a brief description. Based on these descriptions, you choose a site to view. Many search engines let you choose your own description using the following Meta tag:

<META name="description" content="The best fully comprehensive web design school for the lowest price.">

Keep your description under two hundred characters.

Making Sure a Search Engine Doesnt Log Your Page

Maybe you are placing all of the books for your web design school on the web for your students to look at. You probably dont want other people who havent paid to come along and find your books, right? Youd want to use the following Meta tag. It keeps search engines from recording the page and from following any links on the page.

<meta name="robots" content="noindex,nofollow">

NOINDEX and NOFOLLOW can also be used individually.

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