Content

Copywriting Style

Purpose: These recommendations will ensure that the website content remains consistent, accessible, and engaging for a diverse audience

Tone and Voice

Use plain language that is easy to understand.
Government websites should avoid jargon and overly technical language.
Find balance between a formal, reliable tone and a friendly, accessible approach.

Structure and Readability

Use descriptive headings and subheadings to break up content and guide the reader.
Keep paragraphs brief and to the point.
Use bullet points or numbered lists where necessary.
Ensure language is inclusive and respectful of all audience segments.

Visual Treatment

Purpose: These recommendations will ensure that the website content remains consistent, accessible, and engaging for a diverse audience

Relevance and Clarity

Choose images that clearly reflect the message of the content. Images should be relevant to the subject matter.
Use imagery that reflects the diversity of the audience. Ensure people, places, and services represented in imagery are inclusive and representative of the community.
Use high-resolution images that look professional across different devices and screen sizes and ensure they are optimized to maintain fast load times.

Accessibility

Provide descriptive alternative text (alt text) for all images to support screen readers and improve SEO.
The alt text should describe the image’s purpose.
Use images that are either government-approved or properly licensed.

Design & Interaction

Purpose: These recommendations will ensure that the website content remains consistent, accessible, and engaging for a diverse audience

Clarity and Messaging

Use direct, action-oriented language that clearly tells the user what to do (e.g., “Apply Now,” “Learn More,” “Contact Us”).
Where possible, explain the benefit of taking the action. For example, “Sign Up for Updates” can be enhanced to “Sign Up to Stay Informed.”

Design and Visibility

Position CTAs where they are easily noticeable without overwhelming the user. Often, CTAs are best placed near related content.
Ensure that the button size and shape are consistent and align with the design system described in the guideline.

Usability

CTAs must be accessible via keyboard navigation and properly announced by screen readers. Use semantic HTML (e.g., <button> for clickable elements).

Purpose: Ensure website content is accurate, accessible, and inclusive for users in multiple languages.

Content Translation

Provide content in all required languages to reach your audience effectively.
Each institution is responsible for providing and approving the content on its own website, including translations.
Automatic translation tools must not be used to ensure accuracy, clarity, and cultural relevance.
Use ~~your~~the content management system’s localization tools to manage multiple languages effectively.

Consistency and Accessibility

Maintain consistent terminology and style across all languages.
Translated content should follow the same readability, tone, and inclusivity standards as the original content.
Clearly indicate language options on the website and make switching languages easy for users.