XMF Metagen Class

The Metagen class in the XMF Framework provides a comprehensive toolkit for generating and managing HTML meta tags, Open Graph tags, and other SEO-related metadata.

Class Overview

The Metagen class handles:

• Standard HTML meta tags (description, keywords, etc.)
• Open Graph meta tags for social sharing
• Twitter Card meta tags
• Structured data and JSON-LD
• Canonical URLs
• Language and locale specifications

Basic Class Structure

namespace Xmf;

class Metagen
{
    protected $meta = [];
    protected $ogTags = [];
    protected $twitterTags = [];
    protected $jsonLd = [];
    protected $canonicalUrl;
    protected $language;

    public function __construct() {}

    public function setDescription(string $description): self {}

    public function setKeywords(string $keywords): self {}

    public function renderAll(): string {}
}

Basic Usage

Simple Meta Tags

use Xmf\Metagen;

$metagen = new Metagen();

// Set basic meta tags
$metagen->setDescription('This is my awesome website');
$metagen->setKeywords('php, xoops, web development');

// Render to HTML
echo $metagen->renderAll();

// Output:
// <meta name="description" content="This is my awesome website" />
// <meta name="keywords" content="php, xoops, web development" />

Open Graph Meta Tags

Open Graph tags help control how content appears when shared on social media.

Basic Open Graph Setup

$metagen = new Metagen();

$metagen->setOpenGraphProperty('og:title', 'My Awesome Article');
$metagen->setOpenGraphProperty('og:description', 'Learn how to use Metagen for SEO');
$metagen->setOpenGraphProperty('og:image', 'https://example.com/image.jpg');
$metagen->setOpenGraphProperty('og:url', 'https://example.com/article');
$metagen->setOpenGraphProperty('og:type', 'article');

echo $metagen->renderAll();

Structured Data and JSON-LD

JSON-LD provides structured data that search engines can better understand.

Article Structured Data

$metagen = new Metagen();

$articleData = [
    '@context' => 'https://schema.org',
    '@type' => 'Article',
    'headline' => 'Understanding XOOPS 4.0',
    'description' => 'A comprehensive guide to XOOPS modernization',
    'image' => 'https://example.com/article.jpg',
    'datePublished' => '2026-01-31T10:00:00Z',
    'dateModified' => '2026-01-31T15:00:00Z',
    'author' => [
        '@type' => 'Person',
        'name' => 'John Developer',
        'url' => 'https://example.com/author'
    ]
];

$metagen->setJsonLd($articleData);

echo $metagen->renderAll();

Module Integration Examples

Blog/Article Module

namespace MyModule\Controller;

use Xmf\Metagen;
use MyModule\Repository\ArticleRepository;

class ArticleController
{
    public function viewAction($id)
    {
        $repository = new ArticleRepository();
        $article = $repository->getById($id);

        if (!$article) {
            return $this->notFound();
        }

        // Initialize Metagen
        $metagen = new Metagen();

        // Set article metadata
        $metagen->setTitle($article->getTitle());
        $metagen->setDescription(
            substr($article->getBody(), 0, 160)
        );
        $metagen->setKeywords(
            implode(', ', $article->getTags())
        );
        $metagen->setAuthor($article->getAuthorName());

        // Open Graph
        $metagen->setOpenGraphProperty('og:type', 'article');
        $metagen->setOpenGraphProperty('og:title', $article->getTitle());
        $metagen->setOpenGraphProperty('og:description', $article->getExcerpt());
        $metagen->setOpenGraphProperty('og:image', $article->getFeaturedImage());
        $metagen->setOpenGraphProperty('og:url', $article->getUrl());

        // Canonical URL
        $metagen->setCanonicalUrl($article->getUrl());

        // Store in template
        $this->template['metagen'] = $metagen;

        return $this->render('article/view.php');
    }
}

Template Integration

Template Implementation

<!-- In your template header -->
<?php if (isset($metagen)): ?>
    <?php echo $metagen->renderAll(); ?>
<?php endif; ?>

<!-- Standard HTML structure -->
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <?php echo $metagen->renderAll(); ?>
    <title><?php echo $metagen->getTitle(); ?></title>
</head>
<body>
    <!-- Content -->
</body>
</html>

Best Practices

SEO Optimization

1. Unique descriptions for each page (150-160 characters)
2. Relevant keywords (5-10 primary keywords per page)
3. Canonical URLs for preventing duplicate content
4. Open Graph tags for social media optimization
5. Structured data for enhanced search results
6. Mobile viewport meta tag for responsive design

Complete SEO Implementation

$metagen = new Metagen();

// Basic meta tags
$metagen->setTitle('My Website - Web Development Services');
$metagen->setDescription('Professional web development services');
$metagen->setKeywords('web development, php, xoops');
$metagen->setAuthor('John Developer');
$metagen->setLanguage('en');

// Canonical URL
$metagen->setCanonicalUrl('https://example.com/services/web-development');

// Open Graph for social sharing
$metagen->setOpenGraphProperty('og:title', 'Web Development Services');
$metagen->setOpenGraphProperty('og:description', 'Professional services');
$metagen->setOpenGraphProperty('og:image', 'https://example.com/og-image.jpg');
$metagen->setOpenGraphProperty('og:url', 'https://example.com/services/web-development');
$metagen->setOpenGraphProperty('og:type', 'website');

// Twitter Card
$metagen->setTwitterCard('summary_large_image');
$metagen->setTwitterProperty('twitter:site', '@mycompany');
$metagen->setTwitterProperty('twitter:title', 'Web Development Services');
$metagen->setTwitterProperty('twitter:image', 'https://example.com/twitter-image.jpg');

echo $metagen->renderAll();

API Reference

Core Methods

Method	Parameters	Returns	Description
setTitle()	string	self	Set page title
setDescription()	string	self	Set meta description
setKeywords()	string	self	Set meta keywords
setAuthor()	string	self	Set author name
setCanonicalUrl()	string	self	Set canonical URL
setLanguage()	string	self	Set page language
setViewport()	string	self	Set viewport settings
setOpenGraphProperty()	string, string	self	Add OG tag
setTwitterCard()	string	self	Set Twitter card type
setJsonLd()	array	self	Set structured data
renderAll()	-	string	Render all meta tags

Related Documentation

• Database - XMF database reference
• JWT - JWT authentication in XMF
• ../../03-Module-Development/Best-Practices/Frontend-Integration - Frontend integration best practices

Resources

• Open Graph Protocol
• Twitter Card Documentation
• Schema.org Structured Data
• Google Search Central

Version Information

• Introduced: XOOPS 2.5.8
• Last Updated: XOOPS 4.0
• Compatibility: PHP 7.4+