Government digital experience standards

Based on public policy, web protocol, guidelines and best practices.

Indicators StandardWhyGuidance
The HTTP status of /sitemap.xml is OK.
Confirms the sitemap is accessible, ensuring search engines can easily find and index all pages on the site.
The sitemap file type is XML.
Stores site structure in a readable format, helping search engines efficiently crawl and index all website pages.
The site has a valid robots policy.
Guides search engines on which pages to crawl or avoid, ensuring important content is indexed and irrelevant pages aren't.
The robots policy allows access to browsers and scrapers.
Permits search engines and web tools to access content, helping improve search visibility and gather relevant data.
The robots.txt file points to a sitemap file.
Helps search engines find the sitemap quickly, improving how they discover and index website pages.
Use preferred page URLs to avoid duplication.
Prevents duplicate content issues by telling search engines which version of a page is the main one.
Links have descriptive text.
Describes the link’s purpose clearly, helping users know where it leads and improving navigation for everyone.
Specifies language and region for webpages.
Indicates page language and region, helping users see the right version and improving search results in different countries.
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