Blogs
Government teams are improving digital experiences every day. Gain insights from their stories, case studies, and innovations.
Strengthening information accessibility for consumers with limited English proficiency
We listened to feedback from people who use our materials in various languages to make sure people could find the information they need most, in the language they prefer. Now we’re relaunching our pages in multiple languages. — via Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

We asked our design team: What did you learn in 2022, and what are you looking forward to in 2023?
The beginning of the year is a good time to hunker down, reflect on the past, and envision the future. We brought some of that reflection into a design chapter meeting, where we asked the team: “What did you learn in 2022? What are you looking forward to in 2023?” Here’s what some of our team members had to say. — via 18F

Increasing public participation in user research
Collaborate with the TTS Public Benefits Studio
The Benefits Studio is seeking feedback and collaboration as it explores texting as a tool to improve the public experience of benefits programs.
#GovLove 2023
We’re spreading the #GovLove with Performance.gov the week of February 13th to celebrate public servants like you! Prepare your hearts to be warmed. — via Performance.gov

How to manage a federal website
Managing government websites is a targeted exercise. Here are 5 steps to help you build and maintain a successful one.
Bringing design in-house
What is design, who are designers, and how can they help your agency? Learn how to build a design team that can help your agency solve “wicked problems” and be more innovative.
Continuously improve your website by using customer feedback and web analytics: An IRS case study
Revisiting who uses ONRR.gov: refining personas
We’ve conducted several studies where we’ve noticed gaps in our onrr.gov personas, so we decided to revisit them. — via Office of Natural Resources Revenue

To Build Trust, Aim for Easy
Trust is earned through consistency and commitment. Build sites that build trust by considering user needs, respecting people’s time, and avoiding customer experience pitfalls.
Nearly 68 Million People Spoke a Language Other Than English at Home in 2019
The number of people in the United States who spoke a language other than English at home nearly tripled from 23.1 million (about 1 in 10) in 1980 to 67.8 million (almost 1 in 5) in 2019, according to a recent U.S. Census Bureau report.
18F Checks in With Jerome Lee and the eAPD Project
18F partnered with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) from December 2017 to June 2020 on the development of a product called eAPD — a user-friendly, modern product to streamline the creation, submission, review, and approval of the Advance Planning Documents that states use to request IT grant funding from CMS. We caught up with Jerome Lee of CMS, the product owner of eAPD. — via 18F

Making Impact at Scale: Software Engineering in the Federal Government
Engineering fellows with the U.S. Digital Corps share their paths to becoming software engineers and why they decide to use their skills to improve government services.
Accessibility Testing for onrr.gov
How do you make sure a website is accessible? This blog post outlines the four steps the Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR - pronounced like ‘honor’) at the U.S. Department of the Interior took to verify accessibility. — via Office of Natural Resources Revenue

Sunsetting Go.USA.gov: Final User Statistics
The digital landscape has changed significantly since we launched the Go.USA.gov service in 2009. Over the last two years the team looked carefully at the program holistically, taking into consideration the future of the program, the current landscape related to using shortened URLs and alignment with strategic business goals. In early 2022 we made the difficult decision to initiate steps to sunset the service. — via USA.gov
