Website style guide requirements

Website style guide requirements

All Tasmanian Government websites must be easy to identify as coming from the Tasmanian Government.

Before you start

Before creating or updating an existing government website please consider if the content needs to exist by itself or if it can be on an existing website. In the age of cyber-attacks and streamlining services - having too many webpages can make it hard for the community to find services.

Mandatory elements

• Tasmanian Government logo
• sans-serif font for all text
• a tas.gov.au URL
• footer requirements
• ensure accessibility (WCAG AA minimum standard)

The Tasmanian Government logo must be included in the header of all web pages as a clearly identifiable link to www.tas.gov.au. Recommended placement is top left-hand corner.

Tasmanian Government websites must use a readable and accessible sans-serif web font as the font (e.g., Open Sans). Fallback fonts must be generic sans-serif.

When choosing a font:

• ensure appropriate letter-spacing and kerning for optimal readability
• prioritise balanced proportions, clear letterforms, and avoid overly decorative designs that hinder legibility
• verify clear distinction between similar characters, adequate contrast ratio, size scalability, and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) compliance
• choose fonts with appropriate licensing, allowing free or unrestricted use. Examples include open-source licenses like SIL, Open Font License (OFL) or Apache License
• verify the font includes a comprehensive range of special characters and supports Latin extended as required (e.g., accented characters).

Example of a compatible font-family for web body font, with fallback to system fonts

Font-family: ‘Open Sans’, Arial, Helvetica, Noto Sans, sans-serif. This font-family property is well supported in all major browsers.

An alternative font may be chosen for headings and key design elements. The choice of font must take into consideration the level of cross-browser support while maintaining accessibility and legibility.

A fallback font must be set that:

• has a pixel-width and kerning resembling the font of choice
• is set to sans-serif.

Decisions on fallback fonts, headings and key design elements must be made in conjunction with your agency Communications Manager. For anything outside the regular brand elements, please consult with the Communications Team at DPAC.

A footer section must be present on all pages which meets the following requirements:

• Global links should be present i.e. ‘home’, ‘contact us’, ‘about us’
• A link to the Personal Information Protection Statement must be present
• A link to the Service Tasmania website must be present – www.service.tas.gov.au
• Disclaimer and copyright link must be present
• Tasmanian Government logo should be present.

Website consistency

To ensure consistency in the Tasmanian Government web experience please incorporate the following elements.

Element placement

• Header: Tasmanian Government logo in combination with government area, Tasmanian Government logo links back to www.tas.gov.au on white background.
• Footer: Tasmanian Government logo, contact information (if not otherwise stated), personal information protection notes, Disclaimer and copyright notice and Accessibility notes on a dark background

Recommended elements

• Footer: Acknowledgement of Country, link to Service Tasmania, other government entities, other useful and related government links
• Favicon should be the mono black Tasmanian Government logo