Back to Info and Examples for Accessibility Insights for Web
html-has-lang
An <html> element must have a lang attribute.
Why it matters
When a web page’s primary language is programmatically identified, browsers and assistive technologies can render the text more accurately; screen readers can use the correct pronunciation; visual browsers can display the correct characters; media players can show captions correctly; and automated translation is enabled.
All users find it easier to understand the page’s content.
How to fix
- Identify the page’s primary language.
- Choose the corresponding a language code from the IANA Language Subtag Registry
- Add a
langattribute to the<html>element using the correct language tag for the value that represents the primary language of the page. - If a
langattribute is already specified, make sure its value is spelled correctly.
Example
Fail
<html> element doesn't have a lang attribute, so the browser assumes the primary language is English.
As a consequence, screen readers don't use the correct pronunciation, and users have a hard time understanding the content.<html>
Pass
<html> element has a lang attribute. It correctly identifies the primary language of the page as Spanish.
Screen reader users find the Spanish content easier to understand because it's pronounced correctly.<html lang="es">
About this rule
This rule passes if:
- The
<html>element has alangattribute with a non-empty value.