What does the <meta> tag(s) mean in HTML, and give me attritubes pls.?

Question

A detailed but simple answer pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease (innocent eyes).

ATTRIBUTES, OR WHAT EVER THEY ARE CALLED PLS.?
content="what is this used for">

Answer 1

Here is a dictionary of HTML META tags that describe the possibilities for the NAME attribute and what is expected for CONTENT depending on the NAME:

http://vancouver-webpages.com/META/metatags.detail.html

This article is divided into two sections: one section describes HTTP-EQUIV META tags:
http://vancouver-webpages.com/META/metatags.detail.html#equiv

and the other describes NAME attributes:
http://vancouver-webpages.com/META/metatags.detail.html#name

This page also lists a lot of other references for additional information should you need to dig that deep.

Answer 2

Meta tags are for storing information about a page that does not render "on" the page. While they are commonly used by search engines there are all sorts of other pieces of software that use them (RSS readers, validation for Google Sitemaps, etc).

It is important that your web pages have meta tags for the page description and the character set and some search engines will use the description tag when listing your site in a search result. Furthermore, it is important to define the right character set to ensure all your character render correctly.

Answer 3

Meta tags deal with how a search engine sees your web page. They aren't used as much as they used to be though.