Services and information design pattern: Canada.ca design system

Content requirements

• Content for each link and description pairing is written for a grade 6-8 reading level
• Keep punctuation simple
• Use popular keywords that the target audience will likely know and use; base choices on research and evidence
• Don’t use acronyms or abbreviations unless most people know these better than the long-form equivalent
• See the Canada.ca Content Style Guide for more information on how to write content for this pattern

Link requirements

• Link text must make sense within the context of the page
  • It does not need to exactly match the destination page title
  • It does not need to be unique across Canada.ca
  • It must be descriptive, unique within the page, and clearly distinguishable from the other links on the page
  • Don’t end linked text with punctuation (for example, “How do you apply for funding?”)
  • The linked text must speak to a person (for example, “Apply for funding”)
• The optimal character limit for links is 45 characters (with spaces) for both official languages, but can extend to 75 characters (with spaces)
• Use only standard link styles as defined in the Web Experience Toolkit (WET)

Link descriptions

• The link description complements the link it accompanies to provide greater detail and clarity about the scope of the link itself
  • Recommended style is to list keywords or keyword phrases separated by commas; full sentences are not required
  • Don’t use introductory phrases such as “Includes…”, “Information on…” or “Learn more about…”
  • Don’t include links
  • Don’t include promotional messaging
• The character limit for link descriptions is 120 characters (with spaces) in both official languages
• Drop-down menus are permitted in place of a link description in specific circumstances:
  • When used to provide access to a large number of items at the same level (for example, lists of countries or species)
  • When the destination page consists primarily of a list of links, and so can be completely replaced by the drop-down menu
• Use only standard presentation styles as defined in WET

Grouping sets of links with accompanying descriptions

The following styles may be used:

• Demand-based
  • Prioritization is based on demand (for example, based on web metrics), with higher demand links appearing ahead of lower demand ones
• Sequential
  • Use sequential, numbered doormats when links must be followed in a step-by-step order (for example, confirming eligibility, registering and then charging for GST/HST)
  • Use to allow people to skip over optional/non-applicable steps or steps they have previously completed
• Subheadings
  • Use to group links and descriptions that are very similar, in cases where it wouldn’t make sense to move the group into a sub-topic page
  • Use to avoid information overload; ideally no more than 9 links with descriptions per subheading
• Combinations of the above, as appropriate; however, limit application to avoid overly complex sets of links and descriptions

In all cases, priority sequencing is as follows:

• In a single column layout, the priority sequencing is top to bottom
• In using across multiple columns, the priority sequencing is from left to right, then top to bottom