Localisation

Localising services for different languages makes City of Helsinki services more approachable and easy to understand for wider audiences.

Here are some recommendations for localising content and navigation:

• The default language of Helsinki digital services is Finnish (FI).

  • It is recommended that Helsinki digital services follow the Finnish date and time locale even if the user is using some other language. See the HDS data format guidelines for more information.

• Content should also be provided at least in Swedish (SV) and English (EN), if possible.

  • Finnish (FI), Swedish (SV), and English (EN) languages should be treated as equal in content and language menus. For these languages, it is recommended to provide full content.
  • For the English (EN) locale, British English spelling should be used.
  • For the Swedish (SV) locale, the Helsingfors version of the framed logo should be used. Other languages use the default Helsinki framed logo. See more in the logo guidelines.

• Additional languages, sign language, and plain language versions of content can be added depending on the targeted user group of the service. The content provided in additional languages can be a subset or a summary of the main content.

• Let the user select their preferred language.

  • Do not auto-localise content or menus unless the user has picked a default language for themself.
  • For logged-in users, the language selection can be stored in user information.
  • For non-logged-in users, the selection made in the language picker can be stored with a cookie.

• When the user switches languages, the page context should be preserved.

  • When the user switches language on a sub-page, the corresponding page should be shown, instead of redirecting the user to the front page.
  • If a localised version of the content is not available, it is recommended to inform the user and provide possible next actions, instead of redirecting to the front page.

• The preferred method for switching languages is with the language picker action in HDS Navigation component.

  • If there are less than three available languages and the services navigation is simple, available languages can be listed as links in the navigation bar action row instead of a language select dropdown.

• Use language code (FI, SV, EN...) to represent locales

  • Do not use flags. Languages are not always country-specific.
  • The currently selected language (for example in navigation language picker) can be indicated with language code alone.
  • When listing languages for selection it is advised to also write out the locale in its corresponding language. Here are some common example locales: