UTF-8 Charset
Checks for <meta charset="utf-8"> at the top of <head>.
What this check measures
We read the charset meta tag. Must be utf-8, must be one of the first elements in <head> so the browser parses text correctly.
Why it matters
Without explicit charset, umlauts, emojis, and non-ASCII characters can render as gibberish in some browsers. Also breaks AI crawlers that parse strictly.
How our audit detects it
Parse first few head elements, find `<meta charset>`, verify value is utf-8.
Typical findings
- error_outlineMissing charset meta.
- error_outlinecharset=iso-8859-1 (legacy, breaks emoji).
- error_outlineMeta charset after <title> — some browsers re-parse.
How to fix
Add `<meta charset="utf-8">` as the first element in <head>.
Copy-paste fix prompt for your stack
Lovable · Cursor · Bolt · v0 · Replit · Windsurf · Claude Code · Base44
Frequently asked questions
Uppercase or lowercase utf-8?expand_more
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