<head>: The Document Metadata (Header) element

The HTML <head> element contains machine-readable information (metadata) about the document, like its title, scripts, and style sheets.

Note: <head> primarily holds information for machine processing, not human-readability. For human-visible information, like top-level headings and listed authors, see the <header> element.

Content categories	None.
Permitted content	If the document is an `<iframe>` `srcdoc` document, or if title information is available from a higher level protocol (like the subject line in HTML email), zero or more elements of metadata content. Otherwise, one or more elements of metadata content where exactly one is a `<title>` element.
Tag omission	The start tag may be omitted if the first thing inside the `<head>` element is an element. The end tag may be omitted if the first thing following the `<head>` element is not a space character or a comment.
Permitted parents	An `<html>` element, as its first child.
Permitted ARIA roles	None
DOM interface	`HTMLHeadElement`

Attributes

This element includes the global attributes.

profile: The URIs of one or more metadata profiles, separated by white space.

Example

<!doctype html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>Document title</title>
  </head>
</html>

Notes

HTML5-compliant browsers automatically create a <head> element if its tags are omitted in the markup. This auto-creation is not guaranteed in ancient browsers.

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
HTML Living Standard The definition of '<head>' in that specification.	Living Standard	No change from latest shapshot
HTML5 The definition of '<head>' in that specification.	Recommendation	Obsoleted `profile`
HTML 4.01 Specification The definition of '<head>' in that specification.	Recommendation

Browser compatibility

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet
`head`	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support Yes	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes
`profile` DeprecatedNon-standard	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support Yes	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes

Legend

Full support: Full support
Non-standard. Expect poor cross-browser support.: Non-standard. Expect poor cross-browser support.
Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.: Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.