Language missing or invalid

We are using the WAVE accessibility evaluation tool for our library website and we are getting the message:

The language of the document is not identified or a lang attribute value is invalid.

How do we designate English as the site's language?

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russell5607

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25K Points

6 months ago

Per Google:

To designate English as the language of your library website and resolve the "Language missing or invalid" message in WAVE, you need to add the lang attribute to the <html> tag of each web page.

How to set the language to English:

Locate the <html> tag: In the HTML code for each page of your website, find the opening <html> tag, which is usually at the very top of the document.
Add the lang attribute: Add the lang attribute to the <html> tag with the value "en" for English.
html
```
<html lang="en">
    
</html>
```
This code tells browsers and assistive technologies (like screen readers) that the primary language of the page content is English.

Why this is important for accessibility:

Screen readers: The lang attribute allows screen readers to pronounce words with the correct accent and language profile.
Search engines: It helps search engines provide language-specific results.
Overall user experience: Users can benefit from features like proper character and script display, and predictable font adjustments.

By adding the lang="en" attribute to your <html> tag, you will satisfy the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Success Criterion 3.1.1, which requires that the default human language of each web page can be programmatically determined.

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amsterdam1906

2 Messages

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80 Points

Thank you. How do you add this when you are using Homestead?

I don't see where I can modify the code of the website when I am using a website builder.

6 months ago

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russell5607

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25K Points

@amsterdam1906 FREE SEO Consultation: 888-412-9962

6 months ago

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amsterdam1906

Language missing or invalid

russell5607

amsterdam1906

russell5607

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