GC Design System components are designed to adapt to the size of the screen or frame where they’re being viewed. As an exception, the text size in the header and footer is fixed.
Preserve the signature element in the header for GC sites
Maintain the signature for all GC sites.
Use the signature-variant attribute to set the Government of Canada signature to either colour or white. For white backgrounds, keep the colour default setting for the signature.
Always preserve the integrity of the Government of Canada signature. Avoid modifying it in any way, stretching, or changing the colours or text.
On Canada.ca pages, set the signature-has-link attribute to true to set the Government of Canada signature link to Canada.ca.
Include the language toggle on all GC sites
Include the language toggle by setting the lang-href attribute. Setting the lang-href also sets the href of the language toggle.
Use the lang attribute to set the site language and the toggle will offer the other Official Language.
Set up the skip-to-content to improve accessibility
Set up a skip-to-content link as a shortcut for people using an assistive technology and improve keyboard navigation.
Set the href of the skip-to-content link in the header’s top navigation using the skip-to-href attribute.
Use the skip-to-nav slot to replace the default top navigation with the skip-to-content link.
Pass a child element with the slot="skip-to-nav" attribute to place the element first in the header.
Include the breadcrumbs and search on Canada.ca sites
On Canada.ca pages, keep the default setting of hide-canada-link to false.
Add the breadcrumbs component by passing a child element with the slot="breadcrumb" attribute. This will place the breadcrumbs in the header below the language toggle, signature and search slot.
Add a new breadcrumbs link to the breadcrumbs component by using the gcds-breadcrumbs-item component. The link can be added through the href property.
Include a search form by adding by adding <gcds-search slot="search"></gcds-search> or passing a child element with the slot="search" attribute. This will place the element under the language toggle and beside the signature in the header.
Set the search to a local or global search form. By default, the component is set to search Canada.ca.
Set up a top navigation
Add a top navigation by passing a child element with the slot="menu" attribute. This will place the element in the header below the language toggle, signature, and search slots.
Opt to add a banner by passing a child element with the slot="banner" attribute. This will place the element across the top of the header under the skip-to-nav element.
Set up account controls
Add an account button by passing a gcds-button with the slot=”account” attribute. This will place the button element, styled as the Canada.ca contextual sign in button, across from the breadcrumbs.
Configure the button label to reflect the account-related action, like “Sign in” or “Sign out”.
Examples
Explore the different ways you can configure the component. Each example shows a working implementation and ready-to-copy code.
These attributes are needed for the component to function correctly.
lang-href
The lang-href attribute specifies the URL of the same page in another language, typically English or French. Use this attribute to provide a link that allows users to switch between available language versions.
The skip-to-href attribute specifies the URL or anchor for the “Skip to content” link. This link allows users, especially those using assistive technologies, to quickly navigate to the main content of the page, improving accessibility.
These attributes allow you to customize or extend the component’s behaviour and presentation.
signature-has-link
The signature-has-link attribute determines whether the header signature links to Canada.ca. By default, it’s set to true, which means the signature is clickable.
The default slot allows you to inject custom content into the component’s primary content area, and named slots, into specific areas.
account
The account slot is for adding an account-related button below the header. Use this slot with a gcds-button to include a button element, styled as the Canada.ca contextual sign in button, for actions like “Sign in” and “Sign out”.
<gcds-header lang-href="fr-url-here" skip-to-href="#id-main-content-here"> <gcds-button type="link" href="#" slot="account"> Sign in </gcds-button></gcds-header>
banner
The banner slot is for adding a banner across the top of the header. Use this slot to display site-wide alerts or promotional messages.
The breadcrumb slot is for adding breadcrumbs below the header. Use this slot to show the user’s current page location and navigation path.
<gcds-header lang-href="fr-url-here" skip-to-href="#id-main-content-here"> <gcds-breadcrumbs slot="breadcrumb"> <gcds-breadcrumbs-item href="#"> Home page </gcds-breadcrumbs-item> <gcds-breadcrumbs-item href="#"> Parent page link </gcds-breadcrumbs-item> </gcds-breadcrumbs></gcds-header>
menu
The menu slot is for adding a navigation menu below the divider line. For instance, you can use the top-nav component within this slot to provide the site’s primary navigation links.
The skip-to-nav slot is for adding a “skip to content” link at the top of the header. By default, the header includes a “skip to main content” link to improve accessibility for users of assistive technologies. The target for this default link can be set using the skip-to-href prop. Use this slot to add additional skip links or a custom “skip to content” link.
<gcds-header lang-href="fr-url-here" skip-to-href="#id-main-content-here"> <gcds-link href="#main-content" slot="skip-to-nav"> Skip to main content </gcds-link></gcds-header>
toggle
The toggle slot is for adding a custom language toggle in the header. By default, the header includes a language toggle that includes English and French. The target for this default language toggle can be set using the lang-href prop. Use this slot to add additional available languages.
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