Suggest an edit

Improve this article

Refine the answer for “What is the <head> element in HTML?”. Your changes go to moderation before they’re published.

Approval required

Content

What you’re changing

Title (EN)

Short answer (EN)

Shown above the full answer for quick recall.

Answer (EN)

The `<head>` element in HTML is a **service (invisible) part of the document** that contains **metadata** about the page: its title, encoding, linked styles, scripts, a description for search engines, and more.

The browser uses the contents of `<head>` to **understand how to process and render the page**, but **does not show it to the user**.

---

### 1. Where `<head>` is located

It is located **between the tags** `<html>` and `<body>`, and always comes **before** the page's main content.

Example of a basic structure:

```html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
  <head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <title>My site</title>
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="style.css">
  </head>

<body>
    <h1>Hello, world!</h1>
  </body>
</html>
```

---

### 2. What is stored inside `<head>`

`<head>` contains **technical tags** that control the page's behavior but do not output content.

| Tag | Purpose |
|---|---|
| `<title>` | Page title (shown on the browser tab) |
| `<meta charset="UTF-8">` | Sets the text encoding |
| `<meta name="description" content="Page description">` | Description for search engines (SEO) |
| `<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">` | Adapts the page for mobile devices |
| `<link rel="stylesheet" href="style.css">` | Links an external CSS file |
| `<script src="script.js" defer></script>` | Links a JavaScript file |
| `<style>` | Inline CSS rules |
| `<base href="/">` | Sets the base path for links |
| `<meta name="keywords" content="html, css, web">` | (deprecated) keywords for SEO |
| `<meta name="author" content="Author name">` | Page author |
| `<link rel="icon" href="favicon.ico">` | Site icon shown on the browser tab |

---

### 3. The role of `<head>` for the browser and search engines

- reports the page's **key technical parameters** (encoding, language, responsiveness);
- provides **meta descriptions** for SEO and social networks;
- links **external resources**: styles, scripts, icons;
- helps the browser **optimize loading** and **indexing** of the site.

---

### Summary:

| Characteristic | Description |
|---|---|
| Location | Between `<html>` and `<body>` |
| Purpose | Contains metadata and service information |
| Displayed on the page | No |
| Main tags | `<title>`, `<meta>`, `<link>`, `<script>`, `<style>` |
| Importance | Critical for SEO, encoding, and linking resources |

---

**In simple terms:**
The `<head>` is the web page's **"passport."**
It is not visible to the user, but it tells the browser *who it is, what it is, what language it is written in, and where to get everything needed to render the page*.

Markdown · drag & drop images · ⌘B / ⌘I shortcuts401 words

For the reviewer

Note to the moderator (optional)

Visible only to the moderator. Helps review go faster.