Language selection

Considering universal needs

Users will be accessing our content with a variety of different needs, abilities and preferences, and using a variety of technology

This page helps you get familiar with some of the user needs to take into consideration when writing content for the CRA website.

On this page

CRA User-centred Design Directive

The objective of the CRA User-centred Design Directive Infozone is to ‘align with the CRA's People First philosophy Infozone by putting the user at the centre of the design process.’ One of the guiding principles of the People First philosophy is:

By making information and processes clear to all users, we can help them meet their obligations and responsibilities.

Section 6.3 of the Directive requires CRA employees to incorporate accessibility and inclusivity:

“CRA employees must strive to identify, remove, and prevent barriers to accessing information products and services, in alignment with the Accessible Canada Act.

CRA employees must design information products and services for the widest audience possible by integrating accessibility and inclusivity considerations into all phases of the design process.”

Literacy levels

According to UNESCO, “Literacy is the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts.”

Research shows people with literacy challenges:

In Canada

To support all users
Refer to: Plain language

Numeracy levels

According to OECD, numeracy is “the ability to access, use, interpret and communicate mathematical information and ideas in order to engage in and manage the mathematical demands of a range of situations in adult life.”

In Canada

Source: Adults With Inadequate Numeracy Skills (Conference Board of Canada, 2012)

Research shows that people prefer numerals rather than numbers written in words (for example, 5 rather than five).

Numerals help people quickly make sense of information as they:

Many people can find it difficult to use government services because of numeracy challenges.

Refer to: Numbers and symbols

Accessibility

Making content accessible means a wide range of people can use it, including people with physical and cognitive disabilities.

According to the Standard on Web Accessibility, each web page must meet all five WCAG 2.1 conformance requirements.

In Canada

Some disabilities are well-known. For example:

Some disabilities are not as visible. For example:

Some disabilities are temporary. For example:

Even people who do not identify as having a disability will experience some form of situational disability, such as:

Inclusiveness

Inclusiveness includes considerations for: sex and gender, disability, Indigenous Peoples, and race. 

Refer to: Inclusive Writing Infozone

Ability inclusive representation

In Canada

(2017 data)

Source: A demographic, employment and income profile of Canadians with disabilities aged 15 years and over, 2017 (Statistics Canada)

When creating content about people with disabilities:

Age

In Canada

Source: Annual Demographic Estimates: Canada, Provinces and Territories, 2022 (Statistics Canada, 2022)

Culture, heritage or race

In Canada

Choose words that do not reinforce cultural or racial stereotypes

When creating fictitious scenarios, visuals or other multimedia:

Gender inclusive language

People can have different gender identities, expressions and sexual orientations.

Gender-inclusive writing avoids mentioning gender whenever possible, and is respectful of:

Refer to: Inclusive writing (Writing Tips Plus) (Translation Bureau)

Sexual orientation

In Canada

Source: A statistical portrait of Canada's diverse LGBTQ2+ communities (Statistics Canada, 2018)

Source: Same-sex couples in Canada in 2016 (Statistics Canada, 2016)

When creating fictitious scenarios, visuals or other multimedia:

Devices, screen size and technology use

Not everyone has access to the same tools and technologies across Canada. What people use and what kind of access they have can depend on many factors including age, income and location.

Depending on the context of use, people will view your content on different screen sizes.

Phone and tablet screens display less content than desktop and laptop screens. Readers who use small screens:

In Canada

Specialist audience

A specialist could be an accountant, a lawyer, or other industry-specific, education level specific audiences.

Research shows that both specialists and general audiences prefer information written in plain language. Refer to: Plain language is for everyone, even experts.

In accordance with the Directive on the Management of Communications (section 6.10.3), 100% of the CRA’s web content is required to be in plain language.

Even people with high literacy levels prefer plain language because:

If you use terms only specialists are familiar with, consider including a simple explanation for general audiences.

You must always include a summary in plain language for:

Equivalent content in English and French

You must publish communications and provide services to the public in both official languages, as part of the Official Languages Act.

In Canada

Source: Knowledge of official languages, 2021 Census (Statistics Canada, 2021)

You must ensure that government content:

If you have questions about:

Date modified: