Meta tags are invisible tags that can be added inside the head tag of a web page. By "invisible", I mean they do not show up in a browser when the web page is viewed.

So if meta tags are invisible, why should anyone use them? What good are they? How are they used?

There are many answers to the question of why anyone should use meta tags, because meta tags can be used for many purposes; but a very important use of meta tags is to create a search engine presence for your site.

For the purpose of getting listed on search engines, the two most important meta tags are "Keyword" and "Description".

The "Keyword" meta tags contain a list of words that a search engine can index on. In the text of a web page, it would look something like this:

      <meta name="Keywords" content="Dreamweaver, article, Mela, Samuel, EzineArticles">

The "Description" meta tag should contain a user friendly description of your web page. In the text of a web page, it would look something like this:

      <meta name="Description" content="Web page for two wild and crazy guys">

Create a Keywords Tag

So the next question is this -- how does one create meta tags using Dream Weaver 8? It could not be simpler. For example, to add a "Keywords" meta tag, from the Dream Weaver main screen, just follow these steps:

1. On the menu bar, click on Insert.
2. Click on HTML.
3. Click on Head Tags.
4. At this point, you will see the following options -- Meta, Keywords, Description, Refresh, Base, and Link. Select Keywords.
5. A "Keywords" dialog box will pop up. Add your keywords to it and hit the OK button. That is all you have to do.

The head of your web page will now contain a "Keywords" meta tag.

Create a Description Tag

Now you can create a "Description" meta tag. The process is almost exactly the same

1. On the menu bar, click on Insert.
2. Click on HTML.
3. Click on Head Tags.
4. At this point, you will see the following options -- Meta, Keywords, Description, Refresh, Base, and Link. Select Description.
5. A "Description" dialog box will pop up. Add your description to it and hit the OK button.

The head of your web page will now contain a "Description" meta tag too.

Other Types of Tags

In addition to the two tags described above. Dreamweaver offers a number of other specific tag creation options, and one catch-all generic option.

• Refresh - This creates a "Refresh" meta tag, which sets the time interval for your browser to refresh the current page, or load a new page.
• Base - This creates a "Base" meta tag. This is generally only necessary if the URL used to retrieve the Webpage is not the correct URL for resolving relative address references. You will not normally use it, but you can learn more about it if you need it.
• Link - This creates a "Link" element (technically not a meta tag). Link elements are used to define document relationships. Typically the "Link" element is used to reference external style sheets.
• Meta - The "Meta" head tag option is a wildcard meta tag creation dialog box. It lets you select a name for your meta tag and add content to your meta tag. You can use this to create any named meta tag you choose; for example "Topic", "Creation Date", or "Facility Name". You can add any textural content you want to the tag.

Conclusion

It is easy to add meta tags to documents in Dreamweaver. Just click on Insert, then HTML, then Head Tags, and pick the tag you want to add. You don't need to know anything about HTML to add them, and they are very important if you want a page to be listed in search engines.

? 2006 Sam Mela

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