How do I use viewport meta tag to control the viewport behavior?
Jun 23, 2025 am 12:16 AMviewport meta tag is a key tag in HTML that controls how web pages are displayed on mobile devices. Its core role is to set viewport width and zoom behavior. It implements adaptation through the basic structure of <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">, where width=device-width makes the page width match the device screen and initial-scale=1.0 sets the initial scaling ratio. Common configurations include: 1. It is recommended to use basic writing to support responsive design; 2. Use maximum-scale and user-scalable to control scaling with caution to avoid affecting accessibility; 3. The viewport width can be fixed under special needs, but it is not conducive to responsive layout. In addition, it should be noted that only the first one of the viewport tags takes effect. The missing tag will cause the page to be rendered in desktop view, causing display exceptions. Rationally configuring the viewport is the first step to achieving good display results on the mobile side. It also needs to combine CSS media query and elastic layout to complete the responsive design.
In mobile web development, viewport meta tag
is a key tool to control how pages are displayed on different devices. If you don't set it, mobile browsers may render the page with the default viewport width, causing the page to look too small or be misplaced. Correct use of viewport meta tag can help you adapt to various screen sizes and improve user experience.
What is a viewport meta tag?
viewport meta tag is a tag in part of HTML that tells the browser how to control the viewport size and scaling behavior of a web page. Its basic structure is as follows:
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
in:
-
width=device-width
means that the viewport width is equal to the screen width of the device. -
initial-scale=1.0
means that the initial scaling ratio is 1:1, which means that it does not scale.
You can add more parameters as needed, such as maximum-scale
, minimum-scale
, user-scalable
, etc., but these are not necessary, and the usage suggestions will be mentioned later.
Common configuration and usage suggestions
1. The most basic and recommended way of writing
This is standard on most modern websites and is suitable for responsive designs:
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
After this setting, the web page will be rendered at the actual pixel width of the device and will not be automatically scaled, ensuring that the content can be displayed normally on various phones and tablets.
2. Control the scaling behavior (use with caution)
Sometimes you may want to limit whether the user can zoom the page:
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, maximum-scale=1, user-scalable=no">
-
maximum-scale=1
anduser-scalable=no
can prevent users from enlarging the page. - Note : This practice will affect accessibility and is not recommended to use it at will, especially do not disable zooming on pages with a lot of text or require fine operation.
3. Fixed viewport width (used only for special needs)
If you want the viewport width to be fixed to a specific value (such as 375px), you can write it like this:
<meta name="viewport" content="width=375">
This will allow the browser to render the page at a width of 375px, regardless of the actual width of the device. This method is suitable for some designs that require a fixed layout, but is not conducive to responsiveness and can easily cause horizontal scroll bars. It is not recommended to use mainstream projects.
Several FAQs and Notes
- Multiple viewport meta tags : If there are multiple viewport meta tags in the page, the browser will only recognize the first one, and the following one will be ignored. So make sure to write only one.
- Problems caused by missing viewport : When viewport is not set, mobile browsers usually render the page in "desktop view", resulting in smaller fonts and compressed layout.
- Prerequisites for responsive design : Viewport setting is just the first step, and it also needs to be coordinated with CSS's media query and elastic layout (such as Flexbox or Grid) to truly achieve good responsive effects.
Basically that's it. Although viewport meta tag is simple, it is very critical in mobile development. Proper configuration can make the page consistent on various devices and avoid many unnecessary layout problems.
The above is the detailed content of How do I use viewport meta tag to control the viewport behavior?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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