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Accessibility

Set the correct language attribute

Screen readers use the language attribute to pronounce words correctly. Setting it meets WCAG 2.2 success criteria 3.1.1 Language of page and 3.1.2 Language of parts.

Set the page's default language:

  • lang=en on English pages
  • lang=cy on Welsh pages

The component sets the language of each link for you. Screen readers then say ‘Cymraeg’ in Welsh and ‘English’ in English. The inactive language name is already in the page's language, so it needs no attribute of its own.

Use the language name as the link text

The link text is the language name, ‘Cymraeg’ or ‘English’, and nothing else. Do not add an aria-label or hidden text that replaces it.

This meets WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.5.3 Label in Name. Assistive technology identifies a link by its accessible name. That name must include the words on screen. People who use voice recognition software say those words to select the link.

Welsh makes this easy to get wrong. The first letter of a Welsh word can change after certain words. In ‘Newid yr iaith i’r Gymraeg’, for example, ‘Cymraeg’ becomes ‘Gymraeg’. A link with that name does not contain the word users see.

Screen reader users still know what the link does. The links sit inside a navigation area labelled ‘Language toggle’, or ‘Togl iaith’ on Welsh pages.

Why we changed this in October 2026

Until DWP Frontend 5.1.1, the links had longer accessible names, such as ‘Newid yr iaith ir Gymraeg’. ARC Toolkit, a browser-based testing tool, could warn that the Welsh link might fail 2.5.3. We judged the risk to users to be low, because in testing we observed that:

  • voice recognition software still selected the Welsh link with ‘click Cymraeg’
  • users could fall back on ‘click link’ commands
  • none of the main voice recognition tools support Welsh, so users would not expect Welsh voice commands to work

In October 2026, axe-core 4.14.0, a widely used accessibility testing engine, started running its Label in Name check by default. Many services run it in their automated tests, so those tests now report the Welsh link as a failure. We fixed it once, in the component, so services do not each have to investigate the same failure.

The links now match the GOV.UK Language navigation component. The Welsh language team and DWP’s accessibility team agreed the change.

We have not seen the old names cause problems for users. To confirm this, we need research with Welsh speakers who use voice recognition software. If you have findings, contact the DWP Design System team.

WCAG success criteria

When testing, pay particular attention to the following WCAG success criteria:

For more about building accessible services, see the DWP Accessibility Manual.

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Need help implementing this in a prototype or production build? Get support from the Design System team.

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