Developers

3.1.1 Language of a Page (Level A)

1 min read

Set the default language for each page of your website in the code.

What you need to know

  • People who use assistive technologies such as screen readers or other text-to-speech software benefit when the language of the web page is identified. This makes your content more accessible to more people, including people who are blind and people with learning or intellectual disabilities.  

What you need to do

  • Whatever the primary language is for your website, make sure that is the default language set in your website’s HTML code. To check this type view-source:https://yourwebsite.com into Chrome or Firefox. Look at the very top for <html lang= and check that your language’s HTML ISO code is correct.

References

Read the full explanation of success criterion 3.1.1 on W3.org.

Related Resource

Check out “Test Procedure for Language of Page” from the U.S. Access Board for more information about this success criterion.