The scheme attribute was used on <meta> elements to tell browsers and tools how to interpret the content value paired with a name. For example, scheme="ISBN" could qualify a book identifier, and scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" could mark a Dublin Core date format. In HTML5 the attribute is obsolete and deprecated. It is not related to URI schemes such as https:// in links, and it was never valid on <input> fields.
Legacy metadata.
Obsolete in HTML5.
Qualifies value.
Not http/https.
Modern replacement.
Read old markup.
schemeThe original purpose of the scheme attribute was to provide extra context for machine-readable metadata. When a <meta> element had a name and content, the scheme value named the vocabulary, format, or classification system used for content—such as ISBN, a date format, or a taxonomy code.
HTML5 removed support for processing this attribute. User agents are encouraged to ignore scheme and treat each name/content pair on its own. You may still encounter it in older government, library, or Dublin Core documents, which is why it belongs in an attributes reference.
The HTML scheme attribute does not set whether a link uses http, https, or mailto:. Those are URI schemes inside URLs. Some outdated tutorials incorrectly placed scheme="https" on <input> elements—that markup was never standard HTML.
Legacy syntax on a <meta> element (shown for recognition only—do not use in new projects):
<meta name="identifier" scheme="ISBN" content="978-0134685991">Modern equivalent (encode the format in the name or use structured data):
<!-- One scheme per field: use a specific name -->
<meta name="book-isbn" content="978-0134685991">
<!-- Or JSON-LD for rich metadata -->
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Book",
"isbn": "978-0134685991"
}
</script><meta> elements with name and content.name to qualify how content should be parsed.<input>, <a>, or other interactive elements.The scheme attribute accepted a string naming the interpretation system for content. Common legacy values included:
ISBN — International Standard Book Number for publication identifiers.DCTERMS.W3CDTF — W3C date/time format used with Dublin Core metadata.DCTERMS.URI — URI identifier scheme in Dublin Core profiles.DCTERMS.IMT — Internet Media Type (MIME) in Dublin Core.LGCL, ORLY — Example taxonomy codes in HTML5 spec illustrations.<!-- Legacy Dublin Core pattern (deprecated) -->
<meta name="DC.date" scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" content="2025-08-22">
<meta name="DC.identifier" scheme="DCTERMS.URI" content="https://example.com/doc">| Use Case | Legacy (avoid) | Modern replacement |
|---|---|---|
| Book ISBN | scheme="ISBN" on meta | JSON-LD isbn or dedicated meta name |
| Document date | scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" | ISO date in content or JSON-LD datePublished |
| Multiple vocabularies | Same name, different scheme | Separate name values per field |
| Rich SEO metadata | meta + scheme | JSON-LD, Open Graph, or RDFa |
| HTTPS links | scheme="https" on input ❌ | Full URL in href or value |
| Applicable element | <meta> (obsolete) | Structured data scripts |
| Element / Context | Supported? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
<meta name="..." content="..."> | Obsolete | Original and only standard use; ignored in HTML5 |
<meta charset="..."> | No | charset meta has no scheme |
<input> | No | Never valid; outdated tutorials were incorrect |
<a href="..."> | No | URL schemes belong in the href value |
scheme vs name vs content| Attribute | Role | Example | Status today |
|---|---|---|---|
name | Metadata field name | name="identifier" | Still used (with limits) |
content | Metadata value | content="978-0134685991" | Still used |
scheme | Format/vocabulary hint | scheme="ISBN" | Deprecated |
Together, the three attributes told tools: “field identifier uses the ISBN format and its value is 978-0134685991.” HTML5 recommends encoding that meaning without scheme.
Legacy scheme on <meta>, the modern replacement, and reading the attribute with JavaScript in old code.
Read a legacy scheme value from a <meta> element (for demonstration only):
Click to inject a demo <meta name="identifier" scheme="ISBN"> into the document head and read meta.scheme.
Click the button to read the deprecated attribute in DevTools.
Historical markup you may encounter in older documents:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="identifier" scheme="ISBN" content="978-0134685991">
<meta name="DC.date" scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" content="2025-08-22">
<title>Legacy metadata</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Document with deprecated scheme meta</h1>
</body>
</html>In the past, tools could combine name and scheme to understand the format of content. HTML5 deprecated this pattern in favor of clearer field names or structured data.
Write new metadata without scheme:
<head>
<!-- Explicit field name instead of scheme -->
<meta name="book-isbn" content="978-0134685991">
<!-- JSON-LD for search engines -->
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Book",
"name": "Effective Java",
"isbn": "978-0134685991",
"datePublished": "2017-12-17"
}
</script>
</head>Instead of qualifying content with scheme, encode the meaning in the field name (book-isbn) or use schema.org JSON-LD for rich, typed metadata.
Legacy code could read or set scheme on meta elements:
<meta id="legacyMeta" name="identifier" content="978-0134685991">
<script>
var meta = document.getElementById("legacyMeta");
meta.setAttribute("scheme", "ISBN"); // deprecated — avoid in new code
console.log(meta.scheme); // "ISBN" (reflected, but ignored by HTML5)
</script>The old reference incorrectly showed setAttribute("scheme", "ftp") on an <input>. The real API is HTMLMetaElement.scheme on <meta> elements only.
scheme attribute never affected what users see or hear on the page.lang — Document language uses <html lang="...">, not scheme on meta.name, scheme, and content together.
ISBN, date format, taxonomy.
Browsers ignore scheme.
Omit scheme in new code.
The scheme attribute is obsolete. Browsers may reflect it in the DOM via HTMLMetaElement.scheme, but they do not use it when processing page metadata. It must not appear in new HTML5 documents.
Attribute is parseable in legacy markup but has no metadata effect in modern browsers.
Bottom line: Recognize it in legacy Dublin Core or library markup; replace with JSON-LD or explicit meta names in new projects.
name values when plain meta is enoughscheme when refactoring legacy head sectionsscheme to new <meta> tagsscheme="https" on <input> elementsscheme with URI schemes in URLsscheme for SEO or structured dataThe scheme attribute is a legacy tool for qualifying the format of <meta> content values. It is obsolete in HTML5 and should not be used in new documents.
For modern metadata, use explicit field names, encode formats inside content, or adopt JSON-LD and schema.org. Understanding the difference between HTML scheme and URI schemes like https:// keeps your markup accurate when reading or migrating older pages.
schemeBookmark these before editing legacy meta tags.
Obsolete in HTML5
StatusLegacy use only
ElementISBN, dates, etc.
PurposeNot http/https
CompareModern metadata
Replace<meta> that named the format or vocabulary for the content value (e.g. scheme="ISBN"). HTML5 made it obsolete.scheme was never valid on <input>. Some outdated tutorials incorrectly showed scheme="https" on form fields—that markup is not standard HTML.https:// are part of a URL string. The HTML scheme attribute qualified metadata values on <meta> elements.content, or add JSON-LD structured data for search engines and tools.scheme heavily before HTML5. Those documents were often never updated after the attribute was deprecated.HTMLMetaElement.scheme reflects the attribute in the DOM, but browsers ignore it for metadata processing. Do not set it in new pages.Compare legacy scheme meta tags with today’s JSON-LD patterns in the Try It editor.
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