Windows 8 Pin METAs
Windows 8 allows for adding websites as apps (or maybe "bookmarks" is a better term) to the home screen, much in the vein that iOS allows users to do the same. Like iOS devices, Windows 8 allows users to accomplish this same task using custom META tags embedded within the page HTML:
<meta name="msapplication-TileColor" content="#FF0000" />
<meta name="msapplication-TileImage" content="/windows8-icon.png" />
The image size should be 144x144 and you'll want to define a custom background color with the META tag above. Tags like these are invaluable -- very little HTML to add but a giant convenience to users. Remember that the easier it is to get to your site, the more likely they will come back often!
![Designing for Simplicity]()
Before we get started, it's worth me spending a brief moment introducing myself to you. My name is Mark (or @integralist if Twitter happens to be your communication tool of choice) and I currently work for BBC News in London England as a principal engineer/tech...
![Being a Dev Dad]()
I get asked loads of questions every day but I'm always surprised that they're rarely questions about code or even tech -- many of the questions I get are more about non-dev stuff like what my office is like, what software I use, and oftentimes...
![MooTools 1.3 Browser Object]()
MooTools 1.3 was just released and one of the big additions is the Browser object. The Browser object is very helpful in that not only do you get information about browser type and browser versions, you can gain information about the user's OS, browser plugins, and...
![Create WordPress Page Templates with Custom Queries]()
One of my main goals with the redesign was to make it easier for visitors to find the information that was most popular on my site. Not to my surprise, posts about MooTools, jQuery, and CSS were at the top of the list. What...
I wonder if there are HTTP headers that allows to do the same.
How do you actually go about adding the website as an app in windows 8?
Even though we *can* do this… it really bugs me that we have 8 different ways to set this kind of stuff per browser/device.
IMHO, it would have been much better if all browsers used the same “link” “favicon” in PNG/GIF/JPG format… and it had attributes for different size icons (device/browser to choose the best size for its needs)
Instead we have IE searching the at the server root for an icon in *.ico format, special meta tags for iOS, different tags for Windows8, etc. From a *lightweight* mobile perspective… cramming umpteen meta tags in to handle all the potential devices is totally counter productive!
Oh well… I guess this is progress!
why iOS allows users to do the same.
I agree with Stephen, with every other OS and social media site adding their own meta tags it’s bloating up the element.
That should have read head element.