# Bad value X for attribute “content” on element “meta”: Expected a space character, but saw Y instead.

> Canonical HTML version: https://rocketvalidator.com/html-validation/bad-value-x-for-attribute-content-on-element-meta-expected-a-space-character-but-saw-y-instead
> Attribution: Rocket Validator (https://rocketvalidator.com)
> License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

The `content` value of a `<meta http-equiv="refresh">` tag needs at least one space between the semicolon and `URL=`, as in `0; URL=https://example.com/`.

For a refresh, the HTML standard defines `content` as a number of seconds, optionally followed by a semicolon, one or more spaces, `URL=` and the address to load. The validator reads the delay, finds the semicolon and expects whitespace next. Whatever character it finds instead ends up in the message: usually `U` or `u`, or the first character of the address when `URL=` is missing as well.

Browsers are more lenient and follow `0;URL=...` anyway, so the redirect works despite the error. Adding a space after the semicolon fixes it, along with `URL=` if the value doesn't have one. `URL` is case-insensitive, so `url=` passes too, but don't wrap the address in quotes.

It's also worth checking whether the page needs the tag at all. An automatic refresh or a delayed redirect changes the page without the user asking for it, which WCAG flags under 2.2.1 (Timing Adjustable) and 3.2.5 (Change on Request). A 0-second redirect avoids the timing problem. Still, when a page has moved for good, a server-side 301 redirect is better, because the browser follows it before loading any HTML.

## Invalid example

```html
<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="0;URL=https://example.com/">
```

## Valid example

```html
<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="0; URL=https://example.com/">
```