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Free Plugin by Jeff Starr v20260810

Head Meta Data

Adds a custom set of <meta> tags to the <head> section of all posts & pages.

Head Meta Data

The facts

Rating
4.8★ from 19
Active installs
10k+
Price
Free
Last updated
10 Aug 2026
Added
Nov 2012
Requires WP
4.7
Tested up to
WP 7.1
Requires PHP
5.6.20
Downloads
492,603

Our analysis

AI-assisted

Head Meta Data is a WordPress plugin that adds meta tags to the head section of your web pages, enhancing the semantic quality of your site. It allows you to customize both default and dynamic meta tags using shortcodes, making it suitable for improving SEO. The plugin is lightweight and user-friendly, catering to users who want to optimise their website's metadata without extensive technical knowledge.

This plugin is ideal for website owners and developers looking to improve their site's SEO by adding relevant meta tags. It supports various meta types, including Open Graph and Twitter Cards, and allows for custom tags on specific posts or pages.

Best for: Website owners and developers looking to enhance their site's SEO through meta tags.

What it does well

  • Adds customizable meta tags to the head section
  • Supports dynamic meta tags using shortcodes
  • Lightweight with only 60KB of code
  • User-friendly interface
  • Supports Open Graph and Twitter Cards

Where it falls short

  • Limited information on advanced features
  • No details on compatibility with other plugins or themes

Verdict

Head Meta Data offers a straightforward solution for adding and managing meta tags, making it a practical choice for those focused on SEO improvements.

From the developer

Jeff Starr's own description of Head Meta Data, lightly tidied.

✨ Add meta tags to your site
✨ Blazing fast performance
✨ Uses only 60KB of code!

Head Meta Data (HMD) improves the definition and semantic quality of your website by adding <meta> tags to the <head> section of your web pages. Super lightweight, fast, and user-friendly.

🤖 Default Meta Tags

Customize the perfect set of meta tags for your site. For example:

<head>

    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="abstract" content="Obsessive Web Development">
    <meta name="author" content="Jeff Starr (aka Perishable)">
    <meta name="classification" content="Website Development">
    <meta name="copyright" content="Copyright Perishable Press">
    <meta name="description" content="Web Development Tutorials">
    <meta name="designer" content="Jeff Starr @ Monzilla Media">
    <meta name="distribution" content="Global">
    <meta name="keywords" content="Web, WordPress, Tutorials">
    <meta name="language" content="en">
    <meta name="publisher" content="Perishable Press">
    <meta name="rating" content="General">
    <meta name="resource-type" content="Document">
    <meta name="revisit-after" content="3">
    <meta name="subject" content="Web Dev + WordPress + Security">
    <meta name="template" content="shapeSpace WordPress Theme">
    <meta name="robots" content="index,follow">

    <!-- plus you can add your own custom tags! -->

</head>

🤖 Dynamic Meta Tags

Use shortcodes to dynamically output SEO meta tags:

<title>[hmd_post_title] | My Awesome Website</title>
<meta name="description" content="[hmd_post_excerpt]">

This outputs dynamic titles and descriptions, useful for SEO. You also can add unique meta tags and markup on specific posts and pages. Check out the Installation tab for more information.

✨ Help bots understand your content better

🤖 Features

  • Simple and easy to use
  • Clean, standards-based code
  • Customize all <meta> tags
  • Add your own custom <meta> tags
  • Add custom meta tags on any post or page
  • Supports X (Twitter) Cards and Facebook Open Graph tags
  • Supports <meta>, <link>, <base>, <title>, and <style>
  • Automatically adds tags to the <head> section of all pages
  • Check out a Live Preview of your meta tags and custom tags
  • Auto-populates tags using your site’s information
  • Use shortcodes to include dynamic information
  • Easily disable any unwanted tags
  • Lightweight, fast, and secure

✨ Check out Head Meta Pro to define tags for each page view

🤖 Shortcodes

Shortcodes enable you to include dynamic bits of information in your meta tags. Head Meta Data provides the following shortcodes:

[hmd_post_excerpt]  Outputs post excerpt
[hmd_post_date]     Outputs post date
[hmd_post_author]   Outputs post author
[hmd_post_title]    Outputs post title
[hmd_post_cats]     Outputs post categories
[hmd_post_tags]     Outputs post tags
[hmd_site_tagline]  Outputs site tagline
[hmd_site_title]    Outputs site title
[hmd_year]          Outputs current year
[hmd_tab]           Outputs tab space to tag markup

Read the full description on the official page →

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