The Digital Service Standard for Wales describes principles to help public sector organisations provide better services. The standard is grouped into three themes: meeting user needs, creating good digital teams and using the right technology. It was developed by the Centre for Digital Public Services, which has since transferred into Welsh Government as part of the Digital Public Services Wales Directorate.

Govforms helps Welsh public sector teams build digital services that support these themes. It gives teams a practical way to create bilingual, accessible and user-centred services that can be tested, deployed and improved over time.

Govforms does not replace service design, user research or governance. Teams still need to understand their users, test their service and make sure it meets the requirements of their organisation. Govforms helps turn that work into a working digital service.

How Govforms supports the Digital Service Standard for Wales

Meet user needs

Govforms helps teams build services around what users need to do. Teams can create:

• simple step-by-step journeys
• one-question-per-page services
• conditional pages
• conditional follow-up questions
• eligibility checkers
• calculators
• task lists
• check answers pages
• confirmation pages

This helps users complete services more easily and avoids asking unnecessary questions.

Design Welsh and English services

Welsh public services often need to be available in both Welsh and English. Govforms supports multilingual services, helping teams create journeys that can be delivered in Welsh and English from the start. This can help teams:

• design both language versions together
• keep service journeys consistent across languages
• test Welsh and English content
• avoid treating translation as an afterthought
• provide clearer services for users in Wales

Teams remain responsible for translation quality, Welsh language standards and organisational language policies.

Make services accessible

Govforms uses accessible public sector design patterns and components, helping teams create services that work for more people. This supports users who may rely on:

• screen readers
• keyboards
• assistive technologies
• mobile devices
• browser zoom
• plain language and clear instructions

Teams should still test services with users and carry out accessibility checks before going live.

Create good digital teams

The Digital Service Standard for Wales encourages public sector organisations to create effective digital teams and improve services over time. Govforms supports this by allowing teams to:

• prototype quickly
• test services with users
• update services without rebuilding them
• manage changes through controlled environments
• deploy to QA and Production
• review analytics and feedback
• maintain a clear history of changes

This helps service teams keep improving after launch.

Use the right technology

Govforms is designed for public sector digital services, not just simple online forms. Teams can use it to build:

• application services
• reporting services
• grant services
• licensing services
• surveys
• consultations
• eligibility checkers
• calculators
• casework frontends
• approval workflows
• services that integrate with APIs, GOV.UK Notify, SharePoint or data feeds

Govforms helps teams choose a configurable platform that supports secure data capture, accessibility, integration and ongoing service improvement.

Protect privacy and security

Govforms includes features that help teams handle service data responsibly, including:

• secure file uploads
• authentication options
• anonymous access options
• data retention settings
• audit records
• controlled deployment environments
• API integrations
• environment-specific configuration

Teams remain responsible for data protection, privacy notices, information governance and any required assessments.

What evidence can teams prepare?

When preparing for internal review or assurance, teams using Govforms can gather evidence such as:

• user research findings
• Welsh and English content reviews
• accessibility testing results
• service prototypes
• journey maps
• privacy and data protection decisions
• analytics
• integration documentation
• change history
• screenshots or recordings of user journeys

Govforms helps provide the working service and supporting platform features, but each organisation remains responsible for meeting the Digital Service Standard for Wales and its own governance requirements.

Summary

Govforms helps Welsh public sector teams build bilingual, accessible and user-centred digital services that support the Digital Service Standard for Wales. It gives teams a practical way to design, test, launch and improve services in Welsh and English, while supporting secure data capture, integrations and public sector delivery patterns.