charset

name	charset
description	Use when reviewing templates, rendered HTML, or shared components related to Declare UTF-8 character encoding. Validate the final browser-facing markup, not just the source framework abstraction.
metadata	{"category":"html","priority":"critical","difficulty":"beginner","estimatedTime":"5","source":"frontendchecklist.io","url":"https://frontendchecklist.io/en/rules/html/charset"}

Declare UTF-8 character encoding

Missing or incorrect charset causes mojibake (garbled text), broken special characters, and security vulnerabilities from character encoding attacks.

Quick Reference

• Add <meta charset="UTF-8"> as the first element in
• Must appear within the first 1024 bytes of the document
• UTF-8 supports all languages and special characters

Check

Verify that this HTML document declares UTF-8 character encoding in the head section and that it's positioned early in the document.

Fix

Add as the first meta tag in the head section of the HTML document.

Explain

Explain why UTF-8 character encoding is essential for international content support and preventing character display issues.

Code Review

Review templates, server-rendered HTML, and shared components that output markup related to Declare UTF-8 character encoding. Flag exact elements, attributes, and routes where the rendered HTML violates the rule.

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For full implementation details, code examples, and framework-specific guidance, see references/rule.md.

Rule page: https://frontendchecklist.io/en/rules/html/charset