# Viewport meta tag

Category: [Technical SEO](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/category/technical-seo/) › [HTML, mobile & accessibility](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/category/technical-seo/html-mobile-accessibility/)

The **viewport meta tag** (`<meta name="viewport">`) gives browsers hints about how to size and scale the visible area of a page, mainly on phones. Without it, Lighthouse notes, mobile devices render the page at a typical desktop width and scale it down, which makes it hard to read.

## Key values
The common setting is `width=device-width, initial-scale=1`. According to MDN, `width=device-width` matches the viewport width to the screen width in CSS pixels, and CSS media queries then apply as intended. Other values include `viewport-fit` for displays with cutouts and `interactive-widget` for the on-screen keyboard.

`user-scalable=no` disables zooming. MDN warns that this fails WCAG requirements, because people with low vision need to enlarge text.

## How can you check it?
The Lighthouse audit passes when the `<head>` contains a viewport tag with a `content` attribute that includes `width=`. Lighthouse also reports that an `initial-scale` below 1 adds a 300 millisecond delay to taps while the browser waits for a possible double tap.

## Example
```html
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
```

## Common mistakes
- The tag is missing, so phones show a scaled-down desktop layout.
- Zooming is blocked with `user-scalable=no`.
- `initial-scale` is set below 1, which adds a tap delay.

## Related terms

- [Meta robots tag](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/meta-robots-tag/index.md)
- [Meta refresh](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/meta-refresh/index.md)
- [Responsive design](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/responsive-design/index.md)
- [Mobile-friendliness](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/mobile-friendliness/index.md)
- [WCAG](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/wcag/index.md)

## Sources

- [<meta name="viewport"> – MDN Web Docs](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Reference/Elements/meta/name/viewport)
- [Document has a viewport meta tag – Lighthouse](https://developer.chrome.com/docs/lighthouse/pwa/viewport)
- [Viewport meta tag – Semrush (supplementary)](https://www.semrush.com/blog/viewport-meta-tag/)

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Last updated: October 7, 2026
URL: https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/viewport-meta-tag/