Page 67 - GIGW2

Guidelines

for Indian Government Apps & Websites

5.3
Language

The language used in a Government website is very important for ensuring effective
communication with the target audiences. If the language on the website is complex and
uses terminology which a common visitor is unfamiliar with, the very purpose of having
the website will be lost.

5.3.1 Departments should ensure that homepage, all major entry points, and
navigational elements of Government websites are written in clear language
appropriate for the site’s content.

5.3.2 Indian Government websites cater to diverse target audience with diverse
demographic profiles and educational background. Therefore it is highly
desirable that the language used in the Government website is understood easily
and correctly by all sections of the audiences. Departments may test the language
and its comprehension with a sample set of typical visitors before making the site
live for all audiences.

5.3.3 Writing for the web is very different from writing for the Print medium. One of
the best ways of making the language web friendly is to keep the sentences short
and simple. Long, convoluted sentences seem unfriendly on screen and can
distract the visitors.

5.3.4 There are tools available which can help a Department evaluate how easy to
understand and comprehend the language used on their website is. Departments
should use such language tools, including language software, to evaluate the
readability of the website’s content.

5.3.5 The language used in a Government website MUST be free from any spelling or
grammatical errors of any kind. Further, there should be uniformity across the
site when it comes to using British/American English.

5.3.6 Abbreviations/Acronyms, which may be typical in Government parlance and may
not be commonplace with citizens of diverse backgrounds should be avoided or
expanded at all possible places. At the same time, if a short form or abbreviation
of a term is more popularly known and understood by the citizens, then the short
form/abbreviation should also be mentioned.
5.3.7 The language of complete web page MUST be indicated programmatically by
the use of lang attribute. If there are any changes in the default language of the
document, either in the document’s text or any text equivalents (e.g., captions),
they MUST also be clearly identified. (Ref. WCAG 3.1.1 & 3.1.2)

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