By Luke Fretwell · September 27, 2024
The General Services Administration has started a website standards initiative to better “deliver consistent, digital-first experiences for the public.”
“Federal website standards will help agencies provide high-quality, consistent digital experiences for everyone,” says the website. “The standards cover common visual and technical elements and reflect user experience best practices.”
The work aligns with agency requirements established as part of the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act (IDEA) and the Office of Management and Budget’s memo on Delivering a Digital-First Public Experience (M-23-22).
The project is managed by GSA’s Technology Transformation Services.
After ScanGov scores and grades were published in May 2024, federal government websites received an overall ‘F’ grade on basic metadata standards (disclosure: ScanGov is a civic hacking project I built with my son).
Standards will follow a four stage process, eventually leading to requirements. Three standards are now in pending and “will be required after a specified time period following their publication to the pending status.”
According to the website, “The standards are developed through a rigorous and iterative process involving federal agencies, the public, and other stakeholders.”
The standards project has a public repository, issue queue, project board and discussions.
The federal government maintains the U.S. Web Design System, an aesthetic framework that encourages agencies to adhere to a common look and feel. While many federal websites have adopted USWDS, it isn’t a requirement.
The W3C manages web standards that have been widely adopted globally. These include technical specifications but also web content guidelines that inform accessibility conformance.
My thoughts
After our ScanGov findings, in May I wrote about the need for federal web standards. This standards inititiave will help agencies better understand how to universally address technical elements that are fundamental to sound web practices. This is the best federal digital initiative to date in building a holistic approach to the U.S. government customer experience.
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